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Aviation and Rail
Regulatory Capture in the Aviation and Rail Sector
From: Corporate Rules
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In this chapter, Bruce Campbell examines the risks in the regulatory capture of the rail and aviation sectors in Canada and the dangers with the increase deregulation of transport. Campbell argues that since the mid-1980s there has been a significant shift away from prescriptive regulation– including on-site inspections– to performance-based safety oversight and regulation, which left transportation corporations with much greater responsibility to safely manage their operations. These changes were part and parcel of a trajectory of mutually reinforcing policies — deregulation, privatization, austerity, free trade — that enhanced corporate regulatory power and systematically eroded safety protections. The change in the power relationship between the transport regulator and the rail and aviation industries created an environment in which the regulator sees itself as a collaborator or partner with the companies. Thus, the government spends most of its time building trust with the private sector rather than building trust with the public, who do not trust corporations to regulate themselves.
