News release

Today, the Transportation Safety Board of Canada (TSB) released the latest Watchlist, highlighting seven systemic safety issues and one emerging safety issue that continue to put people, property, and the environment at risk across Canada’s air, marine, and rail sectors.

“These are complex and long-standing issues, but they are not unsolvable,” said Yoan Marier, Chair of the TSB. “Real progress requires leadership, accountability, concerted efforts, and sustained action by both industry and regulators.”

Since 2010, the Watchlist has focused national attention on safety issues backed by years of investigation work, compelling data, and TSB recommendations. Despite progress in some areas, serious, and often preventable, occurrences continue to happen.

Watchlist safety issues

Commercial fishing safety: Despite years of attention, unsafe conditions continue to put thousands of Canadian commercial fish harvesters—and the communities that rely on them—at risk. The TSB has issued 55 recommendations on fishing vessel safety; however, progress remains inconsistent across regions and even among fishing communities.

Runway overruns: On average, nine overruns occur each year at Canadian aerodromes. While Transport Canada updated runway-end safety area regulations in 2022, they fall short of international standards. The TSB remains concerned that current mitigations to prevent overruns and reduce damage when they occur are insufficient.

Risk of collisions from runway incursions: Despite new procedures and technologies, runway incursions have risen from 539 in 2018 to 639 in 2024, the largest number on record in 15 years. While the numbers of high-risk incursions are low, the consequences of a collision can be catastrophic.

Not following signal indications: Train crews don’t consistently recognize and follow signal indications. In the absence of mandated physical fail-safe defences that can intervene to slow or stop a train, missed signals continue to create a risk of collisions and derailments. Between 2019 and mid-2025, there were 303 missed-signal occurrences.

Fatigue management: Fatigue continues to affect human performance in air, marine, and rail transportation. Work and rest rules alone are insufficient without effective fatigue management plans, awareness training, and supportive reporting cultures.

Safety management: Many operators are still not required to have formal safety management processes, and where systems exist, effectiveness is not always demonstrated, leaving hazards unidentified and mitigations unvalidated.

Regulatory surveillance: Transport Canada’s surveillance has not always been effective in detecting non-compliance or ensuring timely corrective action. Sustained, risk-based oversight and consistent enforcement are required across the board.

What’s changed

Substance use – this item has been added as an emerging safety issue. Investigations and consultations indicate growing safety risks linked to drug and alcohol impairment in the marine and rail sectors. Inconsistent testing and the absence of reliable data suggest the issue is more widespread than reported and requires close attention.

Unplanned/uncontrolled rail movements – this item has been removed. TC and the rail industry have taken meaningful steps leading to a reduction in these occurrences. Two related TSB recommendations (R20-01, R22-01) were recently closed as Fully Satisfactory. Based on these positive developments, the issue has been removed from the Watchlist.

Going forward, the Watchlist will be kept up-to-date on a continuous basis, allowing the TSB to add new issues as they emerge and remove issues as soon as they are considered mitigated.

Learn more about what needs to be done: www.tsb.gc.ca/Watchlist.