2022 Completed Access to Information Requests
The following list contains summaries of completed requests. Requests focusing on personal information are not included.
Year
Month
Request number
Summary of Request
Disposition
Number of pages disclosed
Year: 2022
Month: January
Request number: 21-2129
Summary of Request: Documentation (press releases, press clippings, pamphlets) showing the history of The Ocean including the evolution of rolling stock, locomotives/cars and routes/schedules. If possible, information about station closures on The Ocean route. (Closed 2022-01-24)
Disposition: Abandonned
Number of pages disclosed: 0
Year: 2022
Month: January
Request number: 21-2130
Summary of Request: Please provide the total number of travel credits issued by VIA Rail [credits issued when trains are delayed] from January 1, 2018 to the date this request is received, broken down by route and including the cost of the credits each year. (Closed 2022-01-24)
Disposition: All disclosed
Number of pages disclosed: 1
Year: 2022
Month: January
Request number: 21-2135
Summary of Request: Any policy in effect in relation to drug and alcohol use and/or drug and alcohol testing of employees including, without limiting the generality of the foregoing, any policy that mentions the use of oral fluid testing for THC or any substance related to cannabis, including the threshold for screening and confirmation of THC or its metabolites (Closed 2022-01-28)
Disposition: All disclosed
Number of pages disclosed: 25
Year: 2022
Month: February
Request number: 21-2134
Summary of Request: Obtain the number of passengers at each station between 2014 and 2021 on the routes between Washago - Rice Lake and Sudbury – White River; and obtain the on-time performance of the Washago – Rice Lake ad Sudbury – White River routes between 2014 and 2021 (Closed 2022-02-09)
Disposition: All disclosed
Number of pages disclosed: 3
Year: 2022
Month: February
Request number: 21-2131
Summary of Request: Passenger load factor (percentage of seat files (i.e. number of tickets sold divided by the total number of tickets/capacity available)), within the Corridor, from 2015 – 2021; Passenger load factor within the Corridor for the year 2021, detailed by month; Appendices I-A, I-B and II of the TSA between VIA Rail and CN; Revenue by origin-destination pair for all stations within the following two (2) routes: Toronto – Sarnia and Toronto-Windsor, from 2015 – 2021; Average delay for trains within the following two (2) routes: Toronto-Sarnia and Toronto – Windsor, from 2015 – 2021; The maximum number of VIA Rail trains that are ‘allowed’ to be operated within the following two (2) routes: Toronto – Sarnia and Toronto – Windsor; If there are any timeframes where VIA Rail trains are not ‘allowed’ to be operated on the two (2) aforementioned routes and if so, what are those timeframes. (Closed 2022-02-14)
Disposition: All disclosed
Number of pages disclosed: 67
Year: 2022
Month: February
Request number: 21-2132
Summary of Request: 1. Travel speed, horn (train whistle) volume and horn pattern of VIA trains as they approach, pass through and leave the municipal boarders of the Town of Tecumseh, including rail crossings [Banwell Rd., Lesperance Rd., Tecumseh Rd. E., Manning Rd./County Road 19 and County Road 21]; 2. Any changes to the above over the past 10 years; 3. Any changes to the above planned over the next 3 years, including changes resulting from grade crossing improvements; and 4. Any communications with the Town of Tecumseh discussing changes in #3 above (Closed 2022-02-14)
Disposition: All disclosed
Number of pages disclosed: 1
Year: 2022
Month: February
Request number: 21-2137
Summary of Request: Obtain a copy of the forthcoming revised response to the information request referred to in VIA Rail Canada Inc. (Re) 2020 OIC 15, 2020-12-14 OIC File number 3217-00399, Institution File: 16-1656 (Closed 2022-02-25)
Disposition: Disclosed in part
Number of pages disclosed: 300
Year: 2022
Month: March
Request number: 21-2140
Summary of Request: Obtain the on-time performance of the Canadian between Toronto and Vancouver between 2014 and 2021 (Closed 2022-03-01)
Disposition: All disclosed
Number of pages disclosed: 1
Year: 2022
Month: March
Request number: 21-2138
Summary of Request: Current and forecasted ridership information (on/off-boarding passengers) from VIA Rail for the Kitchener train station located at Victoria x Weber. Information from pre-COVID to as late as possible. (Closed 2022-03-08)
Disposition: All disclosed
Number of pages disclosed: 1
Year: 2022
Month: March
Request number: 21-2141
Summary of Request: Number of trips (frequencies), number of trains (cars) and number of passengers on VIA Rail trains in the Rimouski-Neigette RCM region, between 2016 and 2021; revenues for stations in the Rimouski-Neigette RCM region between 2016 and 2021; and information on VIA Rail's future projects for the development of rail transportation for people in the Rimouski-Neigette RCM region, if applicable (Closed 2022-03-16)
Disposition: All disclosed
Number of pages disclosed: 1
Year: 2022
Month: April
Request number: 21-2149
Summary of Request: Obtain copy of VIA Rail’s policy regarding support persons, including but not limited to, information regarding travel, fares and provisions […] guidelines, records of decisions from the policy was first designed and implemented, any mention of age in connection with the support person policy, and any internal documents that reference the following terms/phrases: one passenger, one fare […] Council of Canadians with Disabilities, [2007] 1 SCR 650 and/or Supreme Court of Canada.(Closed 2022-04-19)
Disposition: All disclosed
Number of pages disclosed: 6
Year: 2022
Month: April
Request number: 22-2204
Summary of Request: Please provide the total compensation (salary + benefits) paid out to executives for the calendar years 2019, 2020 and 2021. Include a breakdown of the different type of benefits paid out, including any performance or incentive pay received for each year. (Closed 2022-04-19)
Disposition: All disclosed
Number of pages disclosed: 5
Year: 2022
Month: April
Request number: 21-2150
Summary of Request: I would like to know the greenhouse gas emissions per kilometer and per passenger for the Montreal-Toronto and Toronto-Vancouver trains. I already know the average emission rate for VIA Rail, but I would like to know the emissions for these two trains taking into account their actual occupancy rate (emission rate per passenger, not per seat). Also, if possible, I would like to know how this rate varies by class (e.g. economy class, Sleeper class, etc.) (Closed 2022-04-25)
Disposition: No records exist
Number of pages disclosed: 0
Year: 2022
Month: May
Request number: 22-2202
Summary of Request: Provide documentation on the number of employees who have received pay increases since the beginning of 2020, including step pay increases, but do not include pay raises due to promotions to new positions. Provide the annual breakdown for 2020 and 2021, including annual costs for these pay increases. Please also provide the number of employees who received pay cuts during the same period, as well as corresponding amounts but excluding those employees who leave their position. (Closed 2022-05-06)
Disposition: All disclosed
Number of pages disclosed: 1
Year: 2022
Month: May
Request number: 22-2203
Summary of Request: Provide documentation on the amounts and number of employees who have received bonuses or other forms of performance incentives since the beginning of 2020. Provide the annual breakdown or equivalent for calendar years 2020 and 2021. (Closed 2022-05-06)
Disposition: All disclosed
Number of pages disclosed: 1
Year: 2022
Month: May
Request number: 22-2208
Summary of Request: (…) we need to evaluate rail noise impacts from the VIA Rail trains operating on the adjacent Alexandria subdivision. Could you please provide the rail traffic data for this section of the rail line? Such data includes the following: (i) type of train (passenger/freight, etc.); (ii) engine type (assumed diesel); (iii) welded rail (yes/no); (iv) number of trains (day/night); (v) # of locomotives and # of cars per train; (vi) speed; (vii) whistle by-laws – at grade-crossings in the area and if any whistles are blown (…). (Closed 2022-05-12)
Disposition: All disclosed
Number of pages disclosed: 1
Year: 2022
Month: June
Request number: 21-2145
Summary of Request: Information regarding the VIA Rail Vancouver Station Parking (…); Information regarding VIA Rail’s Policies and Procedures: (…). (Closed 2022-06-03)
Disposition: Disclosed in part
Number of pages disclosed: 20
Year: 2022
Month: June
Request number: 22-2206
Summary of Request: Obtain a list of all contracts over $10,000 awarded by VIA Rail for each of the last ten years to date, April 8, 2022. The documents should allow me to see year by year the name of the supplier, date of each contract, total amount of each contract, amount added for cost overruns or additional costs, type of contract (example: type of service). (Closed 2022-06-08)
Disposition: Disclosed in part
Number of pages disclosed: 50
Year: 2022
Month: June
Request number: 22-2210
Summary of Request: Documents related to the VIA Rail Student Pass which may be available in the following formats: reports, presentation materials, summary of correspondences, summary of reports, summary of presentation materials. And may contain the following information: utilization, sales, rationale for the implementation/modification/termination of the Student Pass products, levels of fraudulent use and VIA’s response/discussions, customer feedback regarding the products and VIA’s response/discussions. (Closed 2022-06-10)
Disposition: All exempt
Number of pages disclosed: 0
Year: 2022
Month: June
Request number: 22-2211
Summary of Request: Could you please provide VIA Rail’s forecast for its future traffic volumes on the nearby rail line (…). Please include a breakdown of day/night volumes, train compositions, train speed and any other relevant information. (Closed 2022-06-13)
Disposition: All disclosed
Number of pages disclosed: 1
Year: 2022
Month: June
Request number: 21-2147
Summary of Request: Obtain a complete copy of the conclusions of Systra’s study on the interoperability of the tunnel as explained in the document below, we would also like to obtain the cost. (Closed 2022-06-17)
Disposition: All disclosed
Number of pages disclosed: 121
Year: 2022
Month: June
Request number: 2-2215
Summary of Request: Please provide all costs associated with the procurement of a coat of arms, flag, badge or any other service contracted by VIA Rail from the Canadian Heraldic Authority. (Closed 2022-06-22)
Disposition: All disclosed
Number of pages disclosed: 1
Year: 2022
Month: July
Request number:
Summary of Request: Nothing to report.
Disposition:
Number of pages disclosed:
Year: 2022
Month: August
Request number: 22-2221
Summary of Request: Are you able to share the number of travel complaints regarding internet/Wi-Fi on your trains. I would also like to have the data for each year from 2017 to 2021. I was also reading an article published in the 24 heures newspaper in 2019 that VIA Rail was planning to do a Wi-Fi upgrade in all of its cars in 2020. Has this upgrade been completed? And what does it consist of. (Closed 2022-08-16)
Disposition: All disclosed
Number of pages disclosed: 1
Year: 2022
Month: September
Request number: 22-2223
Summary of Request: Everything related to Canadian gun/firearm proposals, regulations, laws and cabinet orders for the period January 1, 2005 to June 30, 2022 and the implications-for & impact-of the acquisition, possession, storage and use of firearms by VIA Rail and employees and contractors and (2) for the period January 2005 to June 30, 2022, everything related to VIA Rail’s approval, purchase, adoption and issuance of (i) firearms (including handguns, sidearms, shotguns, rifles and carbines); (ii) oc spray and/or pepper spay; (iii) tasers/tazers; and (iv) body armour (Closed 2022-09-29)
Disposition: Disclosed in part
Number of pages disclosed: 14
Year: 2022
Month: October
Request number:
Summary of Request: Nothing to report.
Disposition:
Number of pages disclosed:
Year: 2022
Month: November
Request number: 22-2230
Summary of Request: We need to evaluate rail noise impacts from the VIA Rail trains operating near the Johnstown Facility. Could you please provide the rail traffic data for this section of the rail line. (Closed 2022-11-07)
Disposition: All disclosed
Number of pages disclosed: 1
Year: 2022
Month: November
Request number: 22-2225
Summary of Request: Please advise the name/identity of the winter maintenance contractor. (Closed 2022-11-11)
Disposition: All disclosed
Number of pages disclosed: 1
Year: 2022
Month: November
Request number: 22-2233
Summary of Request: A copy of the third-party engineering report VIA refers to in an email to me on October 19, 2022. (Closed 2022-11-23)
Disposition: All disclosed
Number of pages disclosed: 5
Year: 2022
Month: November
Request number: 22-2235
Summary of Request: Provide a copy of the engineering report which led to the introduction of so-called ‘buffer cars’ currently being used on all trains consisting of HEP-1 and HEP-2 coaches. (Closed 2022-11-28)
Disposition: All disclosed
Number of pages disclosed: 5
Year: 2022
Month: December
Request number: 22-2236
Summary of Request: Provide the information in regard to the snow removal contract VIA has with Wright for the 2018/2019 snow season (Closed 2022-12-02)
Disposition: Disclosed in part
Number of pages disclosed: 47