Annual Report 2012

As National Director for Operation Lifesaver, I recognize how important and difficult it is to educate the public about rail safety in a world full of competing messages. The success of our mission to prevent deaths and injuries due to railway crossing and trespassing incidents hinges on our ability to effectively inform the public of the dangers. But we don’t act alone. Public-rail safety is a shared responsibility.

This 2012 Annual Report reveals the ways in which we have been working hard to keep our message relevant and at the forefront of the public consciousness. On these pages you will read about the expansion of our successful Train to Drive computer-based training program, the presentation of the awards for our pilot Off the Rails

Contest, and a new web-based version of our database that more effectively puts statistics and materials into the hands of our stakeholders.

Year after year we assess and adapt our messages and communication strategies to ensure that we utilize new media to its fullest capability. I am pleased that our efforts were recognized with both a Gold award and an Honourable Mention at the 2012 International Safety Media Awards.

It’s also important to highlight the tireless efforts of everyone involved in making public-rail safety a reality. Our provincial committees stepped up their activities in 2012 to spread our rail safety message as far as

possible. Our volunteers are the heart of our organization and we wanted to formally recognize their dedication and commitment. To that end we created the OL Long-Term Service Award. Its first recipients are acknowledged in this report. I also want to thank our parent, the Railway Association of Canada, our partner, Transport Canada, our Advisory Committee, and the OL Program Review Committee for their contributions toward making Canada’s railway properties safer.

We welcome your feedback and ideas on how to expand the reach of our message. Public-Rail safety is achievable if we recognize our shared responsibility in achieving our goal.

Make safety your priority.

DIRECTOR’S WELCOME

Daniel (Dan) Di Tota National Director

LOOK, LISTEN & LIVE

ANNUAL REPORT 2012 | OPERATION LIFESAVER

MISSION & PURPOSE 2GOALS MET 2

FINANCIAL STATEMENTS 3RESULTS 4

EVENTS 6PROMOTION 8

THE THREE E’S: 9EDUCATION,

ENFORCEMENT& ENGINEERING

FUTURE 12ADVISORY COMMITTEE 14

facebook.com/opl i fesaver

twi t ter.com/opl i fesaver

youtube.com/Operat ionLi fesaverCA

Fiscal Year Start 01-01-12Fiscal Year End 31-12-12

99 Bank Street, Suite 901Ottawa, ON K1P 6B9(613) 564-8100

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ANNUAL REPORT 2012 | OPERATION LIFESAVER

MISSION & PURPOSEEvery year in Canada, approximately 300 collisions and trespassing incidents occur at highway-railway crossings and along railway tracks, resulting in the death or serious injury of nearly 130 people. Virtually all of these incidents could be avoided.Operation Lifesaver is an international, not-for-profit education and awareness program dedicated to ending preventable collisions, fatalities and injuries at highway-railway crossings and on railway rights-of-way through education and in support of enforcement and engineering principles.Our mandate is to eliminate the loss of life, injury and damage caused by preventable highway-railway crossing collisions and train/pedestrian incidents.We make over 500 presentations per year and work with the rail industry, government, police, unions, the media, community organizations and the public to spread the word.Our statistics show Operation Lifesaver education works. Over the past 30 years, we have helped reduce crossing collisions by 78% and trespassing incidents by 54%.

GOALS SET IN 2011 THAT WERE MET IN 2012At the end of our 2011 Annual Report, we shared the goals we wanted to achieve in 2012. Below are some of the tasks that we are proud to have completed in the past year. • A new, web-based version of the Database of Lifesaver

Information (DOLI) was launched in August 2012. This database houses details about Operation Lifesaver associates, presenters, presentations, activities held by OL and our partners, and materials distributed. The new, more user-friendly program will be a powerful tool for our stakeholders and will allow users to view and print a variety of reports on collected OL information.

• Operation Lifesaver was pleased to support the fourth annual International Level Crossing Awareness Day (ILCAD) on June 7, 2012. To promote the event, we issued press releases to garner media attention for rail safety. OL and our partners will support the next ILCAD event on May 7, 2013. Read more about ILCAD 2013 on page 12.

• With the help of our advisory committee, we have been diligently working on a five-year strategic plan. Beginning in 2012, the principles contained in this important document establish our focus and direction through to 2017. The plan will be finalized in 2013.

• We have been working toward stronger representation through our provincial committees. Two new OL Coordinators were hired in 2012: Michael Melanson in the Atlantic region and David Boggiss in the Western region. Both positions commence on January 1, 2013. Their role will be to provide mentorship, offer training sessions, and take a leadership role in promoting the OL program in their regions.

REVENUES 2012 2011

Members’ Assessments $315,228 $320,406

Transport Canada $300,000 $300,000

Other Income $400 $200

TOTALS $615,628 $620,606

ExPENDITURES 2012 2011

Coordinators’ Meetings $11,310 $7,468

Film & Duplicating $1,140 $4,069

Grants & Donations(including Provincial Safety Leagues) $33,562 $27,996

Office and Miscellaneous $28,404 $74,439

Publicity Printing and Supplies $87,658 $41,181

Salaries, Benefits &Contracted Services $412,142 $416,272

Travel $41,412 $44,221

TOTALS $615,628 $615,646

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ANNUAL REPORT 2012 | OPERATION LIFESAVER

FINANCIAL STATEMENTSAS AT DECEMBER 31, 2012UNAUDITED

LEFT: Mike Melanson retirement. CENTRE: Honourable Mention for Ultra Short Video at the 2012 International Safety Media Awards. See page 8 for more details.

LEFT: New Brunswick Crossing Blitz; CENTRE: Nova Scotia Mock Simulation.

RESULTSACCIDENTS(January 1 to December 31)

Up 90% over the previous year, Operation Lifesaver benefited from 307 total active volunteers across Canada in 2012.

TOTAL ACTIVE VOLUNTEERS(January 1 to December 31, 2012) Alberta (6)

Saskatchewan (5)

Ontario (148)

Nova Scotia (8)

Newfoundland & Labrador (23)Quebec (63)

New Brunswick (19)

British Columbia (18)

Manitoba (17)

0

85

170

255

340

425

510

595

680

765

850

177

105 86112

79 83 70 81 67 71

826

606

386 365

262 270

186 180 170 187

1980 1985 1990 1995 2000 2005 2009 2010 2011 2012

TrespassingCrossing

(Source: Transportation S

afety Board of C

anada)

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ANNUAL REPORT 2012 | OPERATION LIFESAVER

TOTAL PRESENTATIONS AND ACTIVITIES(January 1 to December 31, 2012)

WEB AND SOCIAL MEDIA OUTREACH(January 1 to December 31, 2012)

WEbSITE UNIqUE VISITORS PAGE VIEWS

Operation Lifesaver (EN) 17,856 86,452

Opération Gareautrain (FR) 2,157 9,126

OLKids (EN) 1,326 13,999

OG Jeunes (FR) 770 9,302

Off The Rails (EN) 3,458 71,785

Hors La Voie (FR) 524 5,559

Train to Drive (EN) 9,802 N/A

0

200

400

600

800

1000

1200

1400

1600

1800

2000

2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012

PresentationActivity 1,463

1,6431,533

1,446

1,568

596538

323

667 693

316 371

1,381

561

110

226

,

,

,

,

Incoming Messages 4,664

Sent Messages 1,849

New Twitter Followers 355

New Facebook Fans 231

5,638 INTERACTIONS

BY 3,310 UNIQUE USERS

1,135,015 IMPRESSIONS

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ANNUAL REPORT 2012 | OPERATION LIFESAVER

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ANNUAL REPORT 2012 | OPERATION LIFESAVER

EVENTSTo achieve our mission of preventing railway-related deaths and injuries, our partners, volunteers and provincial committees work hard to spread our rail safety message at public events, schools and high-risk locations across Canada.These are just a few of the many ways we worked to educate Canadians about rail safety in 2012:

ANNUAL GENERAL MEETINGJanuary 17 - 19, 2012 Ottawa, OntarioThe Operation Lifesaver AGM is an opportunity for members of the Advisory Committee, the Program Review Committee and representatives from active provincial committees to exchange ideas and discuss new initiatives and key priorities for the coming year. At the AGM, new alliances are created, new methods of reaching out to our audience are developed and the theme for Public-Rail Safety Week is determined. The AGM was previously held in the fall, but was moved to January to better accommodate planning for the New Year.

ONTARIO OPERATION LIFESAVERPROVINCIAL COMMITTEE RE-ESTAbLISHEDJanuary 2012 Toronto, OntarioThe Ontario Provincial Committee was re-established in January of 2012 with representatives from GO Transit, CN Police, Teamsters Canada Rail Conference, Ontario Ministry of Transportation, VIA Rail, Transport Canada, CP Police, Bombardier, Goderich Exeter Railway Company and the Ontario Provincial Police. During Public-Rail Safety Week, committee members were present at more than 20 school presentations, open houses, festivals and other events across Ontario and had a week-long display at Union Station. In 2012, the committee began development of a teacher’s guide and workbook to present the OL message to aboriginal children in rural areas where presenters are not available.

PUbLIC-RAIL SAFETY WEEKApril 30 - May 6, 2012 Canada-wide

Operation Lifesaver provincial committees, community partners, and volunteers held more than 350 activities in nine provinces to engage the public with a strong rail-safety message during Public-Rail Safety Week. Events and initiatives included: school presentations, public awareness campaigns at train stations, traffic enforcement blitzes at high-risk locations, crossing and trespassing blitzes, distribution of pamphlets to professional truck drivers and commuters, and the presentation of awards for the first Operation Lifesaver Off the Rails Contest. We also took the week’s message to social media for the first time, with great success on both Facebook and Twitter.

PLAY ON!HOCKEY NIGHT IN CANADA 4-ON-4 STREET HOCKEY TOURNAMENTMay 12 - 13, 2012 Winnipeg, Manitoba

Play On! is the official Canadian Street Hockey Tournament and Canada’s Largest Sports Festival with hundreds of teams and thousands of participants of all ages. The Manitoba Provincial Committee partnered with CN, a major sponsor for the event, at a hardest-shot booth. A CN Police radar gun recorded puck speed and participants competed against each other in age categories for prizes. The booth provided an opportunity to relay public-rail safety messages and distribute OL safety materials.

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ANNUAL REPORT 2012 | OPERATION LIFESAVER

INTERNATIONAL LEVEL CROSSING AWARENESS DAYJune 7, 2012 Canada-wideOperation Lifesaver was pleased to support the fifth annual International Level Crossing Awareness Day (ILCAD) on June 7, 2012. ILCAD is an international public-rail safety awareness program jointly organized by the rail and road sectors in more than 45 countries worldwide. It focuses on educational measures and the promotion of safe behavior at and around level crossings. Operation Lifesaver promoted the program on our website and issued national press releases to garner media attention for public-rail safety.

TROIS-RIVIÈRES PORT 130TH ANNIVERSARYSeptember 9, 2012 Trois-Rivières Port, QuebecMore than 3200 people attended this open door event and participated in fun and educational public activities. The Quebec Provincial Committee had a prime location to promote its rail safety message: next to a freight locomotive brought on site by Chemins de Fer Québec-Gatineau. OL presenters promoted rail safety around tracks and railway properties to visitors at the event.

SYDNEY COAL RAILWAY“OPERATION NO WHISTLE” MOCK SIMULATIONSeptember 26, 2012 New Waterford, Nova Scotia“Operation No Whistle” is a semi-annual event held at the railroad crossing next to Breton Education Center, a grade 7-12 school. Two mock crossing simulations presented by Sydney Coal Railway and the Nova Scotia Provincial Committee helped bring awareness to the safety issue of trespassing and the dangers of not obeying railroad-crossing signals for students and members of the community.

Emergency response officials, including Transport Canada, the Cape Breton Regional Police, Emergency Health Services and the New Waterford Volunteer Fire Department participated in the exercise. Real-time updates of the event were shared via Facebook and Twitter.

CROSSING bLITZESOctober - November 2012 Various Locations, New BrunswickThe New Brunswick Provincial Committee, in conjunction with the Saint John Police Force and the RCMP, conducted a series of crossing blitzes across the province to promote the Operation Lifesaver message. OL materials were distributed to between 100-300 cars during each one-hour blitz.

bEGINNING DRIVER TRAININGYear-round Province-wide, Newfoundland and LabradorThe Newfoundland and Labrador Provincial Committee ensured that rail crossing safety was part of the beginning driver program of Safety Services Newfoundland through support and promotion of Operation Lifesaver Train to Drive online training sessions to new driving students.

CLOCKWISE FROM TOP LEFT: Trois-Rivières Port 130th Anniversary; Students and Vice-Principal of J.R. Smallwood Middle School (Newfoundland), display winning Operation Lifesaver posters; Play On! Hockey Night in Canada 4-on-4 Street Hockey Tournament; Rail Safety Week information display (Ontario).

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ANNUAL REPORT 2012 | OPERATION LIFESAVER

PROMOTIONIn an increasingly noisy world, delivering our public-rail safety message to Canadians requires a variety of strategies: dedicated volunteers who help spread the message near and far; new media techniques that meet the public where they hang out online; and unique ways of engaging kids that help them to understand and share our important message. Here’s how we used these methods in 2012 to ensure that our important message breaks through the noise:

PUbLIC-RAIL SAFETY WEEK 2012During Public-Rail Safety Week, we launched a series of seven new trespassing prevention posters with the theme “These Tracks are for Trains”. The posters highlight the dangers of wearing ear buds, walking, playing, cross-country skiing, and riding ATVs, motorbikes and snowmobiles on or near rail property. We received many positive comments about the posters and are very pleased with the new format.

OFF THE RAILS CONTEST PRIZESPrizes for the winning entries in our first Off the Rails Contest were awarded during 2012’s Public-Rail Safety Week. Ten winning teams in four categories were awarded a total of $11,000. Given the success of the pilot contest, we plan to launch a second Off the Rails contest in 2013.

2012 INTERNATIONAL SAFETY MEDIA AWARDSOperation Lifesaver won Gold in the New Media category at the 2012 International Safety Media Awards for the rail safety kids’ website, olkids.ca. The awards were announced on October 4 in Wellington, New Zealand at Safety 2012, the 11th World Conference on Injury Prevention and Safety Promotion. Operation Lifesaver also received an Honourable Mention in the Ultra Short Video category for our YouTube video depicting the deadly consequences of taking a shortcut across railway property.

LEFT: National Director, Dan Di Tota presenting OLI President, Helen Sramek, with the OL Long-Term Service Award. RIGHT: Gold New Media Award, 2012.

OPERATION LIFESAVER LONG-TERM SERVICE AWARDLast year we created the Operation Lifesaver Long-Term Service Award to recognize the commitment of our dedicated volunteers. The award acknowledges a long-term commitment to rail safety by individuals retiring after many years of dedicated service to the OL program. Operation Lifesaver Canada commissioned esteemed Quebec naturalist artist Jean-Pierre Vallée to create a painting depicting OL’s dedicated partners and volunteers hard at work sharing our lifesaving rail safety message. Vallée also designed Operation Lifesaver’s Roger Cyr Award in 2008.In November 2012, National Director Dan Di Tota presented the OL Long-Term Service Award to two individuals for their dedication to promoting public-rail safety. Mike Melanson, OL master trainer, received the award on November 12 in St. John, New Brunswick. Operation Lifesaver Canada also presented a Long-Term Service Award to outgoing Operation Lifesaver Inc. (U.S.) president Helen Sramek.

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ANNUAL REPORT 2012 | OPERATION LIFESAVER

THE THREE E’S: EDUCATION, ENFORCEMENT & ENGINEERING Public-rail safety is a shared responsibility between the rail industry, railway law enforcement agencies, public-private partnerships like Operation Lifesaver and individuals. That’s why we talk about the “Three E’s”: Education, Enforcement, and Engineering. Here’s a quick recap of what each of these areas of focus entail:

EDUCATIONAt Operation Lifesaver our main focus is on education. Our volunteers share our lifesaving message in classrooms, with citizen groups and with professional drivers. We complement these efforts by offering a number of free audience-specific downloadable materials on our website. Of course the public also shares in this public-rail safety responsibility. So in our increasingly digital world, we’ve taken our message where the people are – social media. We’re having public-rail safety conversations with Canadians on a daily basis and encourage you to join in: on Facebook: facebook.com/oplifesaver and on Twitter: @oplifesaver.

ENFORCEMENTUnfortunately, education doesn’t always change human behaviour. That’s where enforcement comes in. Simply put, if a citizen is on railway property, they are trespassing and it’s a big safety problem. It’s akin to a member of the public walking down Toronto’s busy Highway 401 or down an airport runway. These places are not designed for, nor are they safe for, pedestrians.Both CN and CP have railway police forces. Their officers are fully qualified and certified in the same way that municipal police officers are. While enforcement is a last resort—we’d prefer that people choose rail-safe behaviours—it is a necessary intervention when neither common sense nor engineering manage to keep people off rail property. It’s a role that the officers take seriously.

“Job one is public safety—that’s really what we care about,” says Ivan McClelland, Chief of the CP Police Service. “Every trespass onto railway property or irresponsible action at a crossing is dangerous. Anytime is train time. You just don’t know when the trains are going to be coming.”Enforcement and education often go hand-in-hand. Railway police officers not only enforce the laws; education is often a large component of their role as well.“There are two ways to change attitudes and behaviors,” says Stephen Covey, Chief of Police for CN Rail. “The first is through enforcement and the second is through education. For me, it’s logical for us to use the majority of our police resources for the enforcement side. However, because I believe that education is an effective tool, I am dedicating a portion of my police resources to get out and do the education side of things.”

ENGINEERINGOperation Lifesaver promotes research aimed at ensuring the highest possible levels of safety on railway property. Engineering and technology play critical roles in helping to reduce the number of collisions at level crossings and on railway rights-of-way. We encourage ongoing evaluation of administrative processes to ensure that needed improvements occur as quickly as possible.As technology continues to advance, it is our hope that new innovations will assist with our goal of preventing railway-related deaths and injuries.

For over 30 years, operation lifesaver and its partners have been using the Three E’s to steadily reduce the number of railway related deaths and incidents with great success.

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ANNUAL REPORT 2012 | OPERATION LIFESAVER

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ANNUAL REPORT 2012 | OPERATION LIFESAVER

facebook.com/opl i fesaver twi t ter.com/opl i fesaver youtube.com/Operat ionLi fesaverCA

Public Rail Safety.

Join the Conversation.

Public Rail Safety.

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ANNUAL REPORT 2012 | OPERATION LIFESAVER

FUTUREWHAT’S AHEAD IN 2013? In 2012, Operation Lifesaver implemented new initiatives that will strengthen our focus and help to spread our important message even further. We are excited to continue the momentum this year with these new goals for 2013:

• After the successful launch of the Train to Drive (www.TrainToDrive.net) website in 2009, we recognized the need to expand its reach to include components for professional drivers (motor coach and transit, truck and school bus drivers). Train to Drive V. 2.0 will be released in early 2013 with these new components and an updated newly-licensed drivers section.

• Operation Lifesaver will be promoting a strong message during Public-Rail Safety Week 2013 from April 29 – May 5. The theme “A Shared Responsibility” recognizes that everyone, from individuals to government and the rail industry, is responsible for rail safety. We will use this opportunity to create early awareness for our second Off the Rails Contest to be launched at the start of the 2013/2014 school year.

• Along with our partners, we look forward to supporting and promoting the fifth annual International Level Crossing Awareness Day (ILCAD) on May 7, 2013. More than 40 countries around the world, including Canada, were engaged in ILCAD 2012. For 2013, the date has been moved to May to coincide with the second annual Global UN Road Safety Week (May 6-12, 2013) which aims to raise awareness about road safety issues with particular attention paid to pedestrian safety. Operation Lifesaver will promote ILCAD 2013 via press releases and social media campaigns to increase awareness about rail safety.

• In 2013, we will be working to create stronger Canada-wide representation for Operation Lifesaver via our provincial committees. The Prairie region is currently without leadership due to the departure of Prairie Coordinator Claude Beaudry. In 2013, we will be looking to fill this vacant position as well as increase promotion of the OL program in Saskatchewan, Alberta and British Columbia.

• Operation Lifesaver has a variety of tip sheets available to remind the public about rail safety issues. This year, we will release a new tip sheet on being safe around trains. Its focus will be reminding people that railway property is private property, encroachment is illegal, and that it is a dangerous place to be. It will also stress that rail safety is a shared responsibility.

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ANNUAL REPORT 2012 | OPERATION LIFESAVER

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ANNUAL REPORT 2012 | OPERATION LIFESAVER

TransportCanada

TransportsCanada

ADVISORY COMMITTEE

Luc BourdonDirector General , Rai l SafetyTransport CanadaOttawa, ON

Stephen CoveyChief of Pol iceCanadian National RailwayMontréal , QC

Paul GoyetteDirector, Publ ic Affai rsThe Railway Association of CanadaOttawa, ON

Robert GraySenior Manager, Heal th, Safety & Emergency PreparednessVIA Rail CanadaMontréal , QC

Bi l l GrodzinskiDirector General , Safety & Secur i tyGO Transit , A Division of METROLINxToronto, ON

Mike LowengerVice-President, Operat ions &Regulatory AffairsThe Railway Association of CanadaOttawa, ON

Rachel LuiManager Program Design &Integrat ionTransport CanadaOttawa, ON

Raynald MarchandGeneral Manager, ProgramsCanada Safety CouncilOttawa, ON

Ivan McClel landChief of Pol iceCP Police ServiceCalgary, AB

Rob SmithChairman, Ontar io Provincial Legis lat iveTeamsters Canada Rail ConferencePerth, ON

Dave Spr ingerRegional Traff ic & Marine Manager Ontario Provincial PoliceSmith Fal ls, ON

Jean TierneySenior Director, Safety, Secur i ty & Risk ManagementVIA Rail CanadaMontréal , QC