Public transit is a vital part of Canada’s transportation system and critical to ensuring sustainable growth of Canada’s urban centres. Metrolinx, a Crown agency of the Government of Ontario, is undertaking the largest transportation investments in Ontario’s history through the expansion of transit in the Greater Toronto and Hamilton Area. 

Metrolinx and SCC partnered to establish a Canadian Independent Safety Assessor program for Railway Systems, in line with international best practices. The program is based on a third-party independent inspection model where Independent Safety Assessors (ISAs), who have earned accreditation by SCC, will undertake independent safety assessments of the risk management process to ensure all potential hazards are identified and well managed. Accredited ISAs assure safety during the design, build and commissioning phases of a project, and also for ongoing inspection of the rail network once in operation. Conformity assessments are widely used in other countries, outside of North America, but this program is the first of its kind in North America.

Metrolinx also worked with CSA Group, a standards development organization accredited by SCC, to develop a new National Standard of Canada, which is now published and used for conformity assessment across the country.