Teamsters Canada Rail Conference

Windsor West MP Brian Masse is once again ringing safety alarm bells over CP Rail's plan to lay off mechanical inspectors in Windsor.

"This is not only a problem for Windsor West, but for Tecumseh, Essex, Chatham, Kent, all the way up the 400 series highways where the rail is," said Masse. "You won't have inspections until Toronto or Montreal. When you have chemicals like chlorine gas and fertilizers and a whole series of other types of elements, you could have any type of security risk."

Masse held a news conference Friday to repeat safety concerns over CP's announcement it will lay off 24 mechanical services workers at its west-end rail yard in June.

Seven of those jobs will remain. With fewer inspectors, Masse said it's only a matter of time before someone is hurt.

But CP Rail spokesman Mike Lovecchio said Friday that based on falling demand for rail traffic out of Windsor, the company is scaling back the number of trains with runs beginning or ending in Windsor.

"That means we don't need the same number of employees in the Windsor yard, and that is what this discussion is about," he said.

About 90 per cent of the trains passing through Windsor start and end their runs somewhere else and don't get inspected here to begin with, said Lovecchio. Only the trains that actually stop here are inspected here, he said, adding they will still be inspected by the remaining workers.

He said Masse is twisting the truth by suggesting safety will be compromised.

"We categorically disagree with what he's been asserting," said Lovecchio. "This is not a new issue in respect of this MP. We've been dealing with this back and forth -- with a lot of misinformation I have to say -- over the last month and a half."