John Rafferty is introducing a bill he says will make transit drivers across the country safer.
The New Democratic Party MP for Thunder Bay - Rainy River introduced a private member’s bill in Ottawa that’s designed to protect bus operators from violence while on the job.
Rafferty is introducing Bill C-531 -- An Act to Amend the Criminal Code for Public Transit Operators -- after two reported incidents of local transit drivers being assaulted by passengers.
The bill would amend the criminal code to treat assaults against public transit operators uniquely.The amendment to the criminal code would require the courts during sentencing to consider the public transit victim as an aggravated circumstance.
“Transit drivers, due to the nature of their work and their inability to defend themselves against aggressive acts while carrying out their primary duties, face a number of unusual threats in their workplace,” Rafferty said during as news conference in Ottawa.
“Our transit drivers deserve greater physical protection on the job and legal protection in the courts.”
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Rafferty said he believes the bill he is introducing will help protect the legal protections of transit drivers.
The bill was drafted by the NDP, and was seconded by former Tory MP Brent Rathgeber, who quit the Conservative party to sit as an independent last week.
