President's Messages

President's Message Archive

November 2021 President’s Message

The deadly flooding events in British Columbia are – first and foremost – human tragedies. I know railroaders from across Canada join me in reserving space in our hearts and minds for all British Columbians – especially for those who have lost lives, homes, and livelihoods. These events are the most recent reminders of how […]

Rail – A Vital Contribution to Canada’s Economic Growth

Rail is the backbone of Canada’s economy. And its importance to our country’s continued prosperity is only growing.  In 2019, RAC members moved more than 360 million tons and 100 million passengers along 43,000 kilometres of track. Canadian railroaders get Canadian goods to world markets, and vital imports to destinations here at home.  Over the last decade, billions of dollars of […]

Rail Safety – It’s A Shared Responsibility

For Canadian railroaders, safety is a constant preoccupation. It is the currency of rail operations. And it is central to our social contract with the communities we serve. The annual Rail Safety Week is a way for us to drive that message home for people outside of our industry – to every Canadian family. This […]

Wrapping Up Summer 2021

Summer is coming to an end and it’s to reflect on everything that happened in the last two months.

Reflecting on Canadian Indigenous History Month

Tân’si. OKI. Boozhoo. Aaaniin. Shé:kon. Pjil’asi. Kwe kwe. Wha Chii Ya. Gilakas’la. Kii-te-daas a. Wa.é ák.wé. Greetings, all. June is Indigenous History Month in Canada. The first day of summer also coincides with National Indigenous Peoples Day. This year, these observances are also marked with painful reminders of our collective past: the discovery of the […]

Canadian Railways: Leading In Innovation

Anyone who might be inclined to think of Canada’s railway as innovators, clearly doesn’t know an RAC member. In every corner of our industry, across segments, and in companies big and small, rail innovation is happening daily. Rail truly is integral to Canada’s future – economically, environmentally, and in ways that are only beginning to come into focus.

The 2021 Budget: Big for Canada, Big for the Railway Industry

Seeing as it’s government budget season in Canada, we’re dedicating this month’s edition to infrastructure and looking ‘down the track’ to some of the incredible investments being made in rail by governments at all levels.

Equity, Diversity and Inclusion; our collective responsibility

We’ve made it through another winter, and we are looking forward to brighter days ahead with more people getting vaccinated to help eradicate COVID-19. This month has been a particularly active one for several of our members. Not the least of which is Canadian Pacific Railway who orchestrated one of the largest ever foreign corporate […]

Sustainability is much more than a buzzword. It is an imperative.

I’m sure many of us are in the same pandemic predicament: our regular routines – from sleep, to diet, to exercise – are modified and may be out of whack. Personal and corporate sustainability have been hot topics in recent years, perhaps even more so as we prepare to enter the recovery phase of the pandemic.

Canadian Railways: Meeting Customer Expectations Through Challenging Winter Conditions

It’s hard to believe that the first month of 2021 is behind us. January sped by, with steady streams of news from around the world and here at home.

Canadian Railways: Catalysts for our Country’s Economic Recovery

2020 has been a year of significant challenges but we look to the future with renewed optimism. From global events such as the rise of the movements for equality and social justice to a pandemic that continues to affect most of the globe. More specifically in our industry; labour disruptions, blockades and of course, the […]

Looking Back, Moving Forward: Celebrating CN’s 100th & Modernizing Interchange

Anniversaries are a time of reflection and celebration of the past and this is true for me on my one-year anniversary at the Railway Association of Canada (RAC) and even more so for CN and its very significant anniversary this year.

Sustainable Change

This is my first message as RAC President and CEO and I am looking forward to using this space to share my thoughts about the most recent trends in Canada’s railway industry and the opportunities in front of us. When I started in this position in early July, I was thrilled to join an association […]