A Kamloops-based locomotive engineer who was fired by CN Rail after becoming distracted and blowing through a stop signal in the North Thompson has been reinstated after an arbitrator ruled the dismissal was not a fair punishment.
Engineer J. Parent was dismissed following the incident, described in the arbitrator’s decision as a violation of a “cardinal rule” for railway workers.
On July 31, 2023, Parent was operating a CN Rail engine headed south toward Kamloops through the North Thompson, and he was notified more than once about a requirement to stop near Clearwater.
Despite having ample time to slow down, the train’s crew initiated emergency braking near Clearwater and came to a rest eight car lengths farther down the track than they were supposed to be — a serious transgression in the railway world.
Parent admitted to being distracted in the moments leading up to the incident.
CN Rail issued Parent 45 demerits for the transgression, which increased his total to 85 — past the threshold resulting in immediate dismissal.
But the Teamsters Canada Rail Conference grieved Parent’s dismissal, arguing that he deserves another chance.
The union pointed to Parent’s disciplinary history in his 15 years with CN, which was largely unblemished. Of the four previous incidents on his record, all but one had taken place in the months leading up to the North Thompson failure to stop.
Arbitrator James Cameron said he viewed the three months leading up to the incident as “somewhat anomalous,” but warned Parent he will have to pay much closer attention to safety issues if he wants to keep his job.
He gave Parent credit for being open and transparent throughout the process.
“A major mitigating factor is the candour of the griever throughout the disciplinary events of 2023,” Cameron wrote in his decision. “In all cases, he has been forthright and accepted responsibility. In this matter, he accepts the seriousness of his mistake.”
Parent was quoted in the decision saying he keeps thinking about what could have happened.
“I fully understand the severity of the situation and I do not take this lightly,” he said. “The scenarios that are running though my head make me realize the magnitude of the different scenarios that could have happened.”
Cameron reinstated Parent without loss of seniority, but ruled the time between his dismissal and his reinstatement should count as an unpaid suspension — a penalty he imposed in place of the 45 demerits.
