Public Accounts committee  The Transportation Safety Board collects reports of all types of occurrences and accidents. They provide on their website a significant amount of data on the rate of accidents in particular segments of the industry. That's the same data we use for our analysis.

Public Accounts committee  We have a process. Mr. Bourdon will be able to explain it better than I can.

Public Accounts committee  Perhaps I can just start with the way that the inspection process is looked at. We do look at factors. There are three basic components. One component is proactive, functional program inspections where we look at the sampling process and go out to sample and surveil across the industry to see where we're finding some non-compliance issues that may indicate a higher risk.

Public Accounts committee  I think in general it's close, but we do have a number of different categories of people who perform inspections and as to whether they all do the SMS audit part, there's a little bit of variation in that, but fundamentally....

Public Accounts committee  Exactly.

Public Accounts committee  To continue with the deputy's point, we only have five remaining staff who have not yet been trained. I believe the majority of those are because of their availability, other things going on. They are scheduled, and they will be completed very quickly. If I can just go back to the balance question between inspection and audits, that was a very interesting observation and it is something that we've taken on board.

Public Accounts committee  The focus on the inspections is on those very specific regulations that require a concrete activity, a concrete action, some kind of management check or provision of training, etc. The categories of inspections break down into equipment, operations, engineering, and the very concrete activities that the railway company carries out every day.

Foreign Affairs committee  I think we are looking at some of the options industry is putting forward, looking at probably what could be seen as rather speculative approaches. Some oil is being transshipped by train now to the east coast, but not a lot. In terms of going to the north, you're talking a lot of infrastructure and a lot of questions around that.

Foreign Affairs committee  There are a number of areas there. Of course prevention is a key concern, and the regulatory regime is where we focus that, so I have two points. One of the major things we're doing right now is a major risk assessment across Canadian waters to look at a better way of evaluating those risks on a more even basis and to be able to understand the comparative risks and some of the factors in terms of effective mitigation.

Foreign Affairs committee  Not imminently, I don't think.

Foreign Affairs committee  Exactly.

Foreign Affairs committee  Yes. In fact, the studies that I mentioned were carried out in conjunction with the territorial governments and the communities. We look at the potential development and the timeframes—those would come in. But you also have to look at the community needs: at the existing communities and where they are located, how resource development opportunities that are coming could support community resupply—just what you are pointing out.

Foreign Affairs committee  On that side of things, I think it would be better for Natural Resources Canada to speak to the question. We don't have that kind of analysis. We know of a number of mining projects that are likely to come to fruition over the next 10 years. Those are things we're looking at very closely.

Foreign Affairs committee  Yes. Canada is working now with the International Maritime Organization on a mandatory polar code. There was agreement to do that work and to prepare a package of proposed requirements. This is based to some large degree on a voluntary set of guidelines already in existence. They cover a broad number of areas, including construction, what kind of rescue equipment to carry, and what kinds of personnel requirements should be established.

Foreign Affairs committee  I'll answer that. Transport Canada has done some work through our Prairie and Northern Region in looking at where development is likely to happen going forward and where there are other transportation routes that you could look at, beyond a project-by-project basis. Typically, a project looks at how to build a road from a mine to a particular port area, where there may be no port—that type of thing.