Applicant’s Guide for the Climate Change and Adaptation to Extreme Weather Infrastructure component of the Rail Safety Improvement Program

Transport Canada's Rail Safety Improvement Program (RSIP) provides federal funding in the form of grants or contributions to help improve rail safety, contribute to increasing safety at grade crossings and along rail lines, address climate change resilience through the rehabilitation, mitigation, and/or prevention of the impacts of climate change/extreme weather along rail lines and rail property, and increase public confidence in Canada's rail transportation system.

This guide applies only to the Climate Change and Adaptation to Extreme Weather Infrastructure component of the RSIP.

On this page

1. Intake objectives
2. Prioritization criteria
3. Eligible recipients
4. Eligible projects
5. Eligible expenditures
6. Ineligible expenditures
7. Available funding
8. Selection criteria
9. Notification
10. Service standards
11. Funding agreements
12. How to apply
13. Contacts
14. Glossary

1 Intake objectives

The Climate Change and Adaptation to Extreme Weather Infrastructure component of the Rail Safety Improvement Program provides funding to support vulnerable infrastructure projects by ensuring resiliency to extreme weather events and adaptation to climate change. Rehabilitation projects to repair damage from extreme weather events, if they mitigate safety issues, will also be funded.

The objectives of this component are to fund projects that:

• Support vulnerable infrastructure projects by ensuring resilience to extreme weather events and adaptation to climate change; and
• Address climate change resilience through the rehabilitation, mitigation and/or prevention of the impacts of climate change/extreme weather along rail lines and rail property.

The Climate Change and Adaptation to Extreme Weather Infrastructure component under the Rail Safety Improvement Program will prioritize projects in the following order:

• Infrastructure projects that address climate change and a rail safety component.
• Infrastructure projects that address climate change.
• Feasibility studies that explore future climate/safety infrastructure projects (if funding is still available and only after first two bullets above have been funded).

Examples of these are provided below in Section 4.1 Eligible Project Categories and Examples.

Eligible recipients include:

• provinces and territories.
• municipalities and local and regional governments.
• road and transit authorities.
• Crown corporations (including VIA Rail).
• for-profit organizations (such as railway operators, railway owners).
• not-for-profit organizations (including academia).
• Indigenous groups, communities, and organizations.
• individuals/private landowners.

4 Eligible projects

4.1 Eligible project categories and examples

• Rehabilitate the impacts of climate change/extreme weather.
  • Examples: Repairing damage from significant weather events to increase safety, such as erosion correction/controls to mitigate flood damage, debris removal following extreme windstorms or forest fires and repairs to damaged rail infrastructure following extreme windstorms, forest fires and floods.
• Mitigate the impacts of climate change/extreme weather.
  • Examples: Increasing resilience of vulnerable infrastructure to increase safety, such as using permeable paving surfaces to reduce run-off during heavy rainfalls, installing soil stabilization measures such as dikes or retaining walls, and improving track health including localised ballastless track upgrades and reduction of shoulder slope.
• Prevent the impacts of climate change/extreme weather to increase safety.
  • Examples: Providing adaptation/environmental benefits such as reductions in noise and/or vibration, the preservation of wildlife and habitat, structural adaptation measures such as changing the composition of road surfaces so that they do not deform in high temperatures, or ecosystem-based approaches using natural infrastructure to design adaptation measures.

4.2 Eligible project duration and approvals

Project durations can span one, two, or three years, as determined by the project scope and complexity.

*Applicants are required to provide an accurate project timeline and cashflow that reflect multi-year funding.

Please note the following when establishing project timelines:

• Single-year projects will have a completion date of March 31, 2024.
• Two-year projects will have a completion date of March 31, 2025.
• Three-year projects will have a completion date of March 31, 2026.
  • Expenditures are made eligible as of the date of application; however, no reimbursements will be made until the project has been approved and a funding agreement has been signed by both parties.
• RSIP cannot issue advanced payments:
  • Applicants are required to demonstrate that they have sufficient funding available throughout the proposed project's life cycle (including start-up) to ensure successful completion.
• Applicants are required to identify the source of all project funding in their application, such as in-kind and third-party contributions.
• Letters from partner organizations that confirm financial support are required to be included in the application.

5 Eligible expenditures

Costs are made eligible as of the date of application, subject to project approval.

Eligible expenditures include:

• Staff salaries and benefits.
• Purchase and lease of capital assets, technology, equipment, and supplies.
• Professional services, including accounting, translation, audit, and consulting.
• Planning, design, and evaluation.
• Engineering and environmental reviews and follow-up measures.
• Expenditures related to construction and rehabilitation of assets (including fees paid to general contractors and labourers, materials, licenses, permits and the rental of construction machinery and equipment).
• Licenses and permits.
• Expenditures for Indigenous consultations, specifically project-related consultation activities pursuant to the crown's legal duty to consult.
• Administrative expenditures, including general administration expenditures, rent, insurance, office equipment rental and membership fees.
• Travel expenditures (including the cost of accommodations, vehicle rental and kilometric rates, bus, train, airplane or taxi fares, allowances for meals and incidentals); travel and per diem expenses cannot be more than the rates and allowances determined in the Travel Directive of the National Joint Council.
• Other costs that are, in the opinion of Transport Canada, considered to be direct, reasonable, and incremental for the successful implementation of the project and have been approved in writing prior to being incurred.

Eligible expenditures can be cash-equivalent expenditures associated with in-kind contributions. These expenditures may be reimbursed so long as the following three criteria are met:

• The associated costs are deemed as eligible expenditures and have been approved by Transport Canada; and,
• The associated costs are not a donation received from a third-party; and,
• The associated costs are related to goods, services, or other support that would otherwise be purchased and paid for by the recipient as essential for the project.

In-kind contributions received from a third-party are considered donations and may form part of the total eligible expenditures of the project, but they are not reimbursable.

For additional information regarding in-kind contributions and what would be considered eligible, please reference the In-Kind Contribution Guide.

6 Ineligible expenditures

Certain expenditures are not eligible for funding and therefore will not be considered in the calculation of the total eligible expenditures of the proposed project, including:

• Costs incurred before the application date or after the final claim date.
• Excess overhead charges*.
• Cost overruns that cause the federal contribution to exceed the amount outlined in the funding agreement.
• Maintenance costs.
• Expenditures for provincial sales tax and goods and services tax, or the harmonized sales tax where applicable, for which the recipient is eligible for a rebate, and any other costs eligible for rebates.
• Purchase of land and/or buildings, related real estate fees and vehicles.
• Leasing of land, buildings, equipment, and other facilities, except for equipment directly related to the completion of the project.
• Financing charges and interest payments on loans.
• Expenditures that have been reimbursed from other sources of funding, federal statutes, or funding programs.

*Recipients are eligible to include up to 15% of the total Transport Canada contribution in overhead costs. A cut-off is imposed to ensure that Canada's contribution goes primarily to direct costs (i.e., costs that are completely attributable or directly tied to implementation of the project and the achievement of the project/program outcomes).

7 Available funding

7.1 Basis of payment

Contribution payments will be made based on one or a combination of the following:

• Reimbursement of eligible expenditures; and
• Achievement of pre-determined performance expectations or milestones as detailed in the contribution agreement.

7.2 Percentage payable

The percentage of federal funding to be provided under the RSIP will be based on the type of recipient, as follows:

• VIA Rail and for-profit organizations: up to 50% of total eligible expenditures for any one completed project.
• All other recipients (including shortline railways and private landowners): up to 80% of total eligible expenditures for any one completed project when VIA Rail or a for-profit organization did not contribute to the project.

Projects submitted by not-for-profit organizations, including municipalities, are eligible for up to 80% federal funding. However, for the elements of the projects where the work is the responsibility of the Railway, and the Railway (not including shortlines) is financially contributing to the work, they are only eligible for up to 50%.

7.3 Maximum amount payable

The maximum contribution amount payable per recipient shall not exceed $10,000,000 per fiscal year.

Applications will be assessed by Transport Canada to determine if they meet the following selection criteria:

• Relevance of the project: strong proposals will clearly identify how closely the proposed project corresponds to the intake objectives and eligible activities.
• Direct/indirect benefits of the project: strong proposals will clearly identify the direct and indirect benefits of the proposed work, including an explanation of how the work will rehabilitate, mitigate, and/or prevent the impacts of climate change/extreme weather. Strong proposals will make concrete and specific links between the activities proposed and the risks being addressed. Strong proposals will include data, metrics, or supporting evidence that on the benefits of the project.
• Effectiveness of proposed intervention: strong proposals will clearly identify the vulnerabilities of the location and explain how the project will rehabilitate/mitigate/prevent the risk or impact of climate change issue and increase safety. Strong proposals will include data, metrics, or evidence that supports the effectiveness of the intervention in addressing the risk or problem.
• Location vulnerability: strong proposals will clearly identify whether the project location has a history of safety issues, whether due to impacts of climate change/extreme weather, past occurrences, or issued notices.
• Clarity and reasonableness of the project: strong proposals will present the overall work plan to ensure delivery of a quality project within the project's timeframe and budget; describe the major components and phases of the project, present the corresponding scope of work, describe project activities, and identify who will undertake them; and provide information related to any partners that will have roles and/or responsibilities to implement the project.
• Value for the money: strong proposals will demonstrate the degree to which the project represents an appropriate use of public funds towards achieving the broader objectives of the program.
• Applicant's relevant experience and capacity: strong proposals will clearly outline their track record of successful project delivery for the organization; clearly describe the organization's management standards, controls and processes in place to ensure it can deliver on the project; and include a description of the proposed project's governance structure, including any partners, their role and how they would contribute to the project.

Additional selection criteria to prioritize equally strong proposals may be applied, such as the urban/rural divide, the degree of vulnerability and geographic location of the project site, or safety risk at the crossing.

9 Notification

After projects are approved by the Minister of Transport, the Department will inform all applicants if they have been selected for funding. Transport Canada reserves the right to accept or reject any application.

To continually improve service and conduct a transparent process, the RSIP has established the following service standards:

• Provide applicants with an automated receipt of application upon submission.
• Issue payments within 20 business days following the notification to the recipient that the requirements outlined in the funding agreement have been fulfilled.

If the program cannot meet the above standards, we will advise recipients in a timely manner.

11 Funding agreements

A contribution agreement is funding that is shared by various contributors and is based on the reimbursement of eligible expenditures. Contribution funding must be accounted for to ensure that it is being used for the intended purpose. Reporting on projects will be required on a bi-annual basis, to track progress and monitor how the project contributes to the RSIP objectives. A contribution is subject to audit by Transport Canada.

11.1 Project risk assessment

Transport Canada will conduct a project risk assessment for all approved projects prior to signing a funding agreement. This ensures that funding agreement requirements correspond to the project's risk levels, and the recipient's capacity to deliver results. The project risk assessment will determine:

• How often the recipient must report on project progress.
• Financial documentation that the recipient must submit with payment claims.
• How often we will contact the recipient.
• Audit requirements (all funding agreements indicate the Government of Canada's right to audit).

The risk assessment will be based on, but not limited to, the information provided in the application.

11.2 Project scope and agreement

The application will define the project scope, mandatory legal documentation, clauses, terms and conditions, performance measurement and payment structure in the formal funding agreement. Once the funding agreement is signed, no change to the scope of the project (including budget, structure, timelines, etc.) is possible without written agreement between the recipient and Transport Canada. The recipient will be responsible for costs associated with work performed outside of the approved scope of a project.

11.3 Regulatory requirements

Please note, Subsection 8(1) of the Railway Safety Act requires that a Notice of Railway Works be given at least 60 days prior to the start of certain types of projects as specified in the Notice of Railway Works Regulations. The types of projects where notice is required include:

• The construction or alteration of a line of railway involving the acquisition of land in addition to land on which an existing line of railway is situated.
• The construction or alteration in a municipality of railway bridges and culverts having an overall span greater than six meters, and railway tunnels.
• The construction or alteration of structures located above or below a line of railway by a party other than a railway company, but excluding a mine or an oil or gas well.
• The construction or alteration of road crossings for public use, including the installation or alteration of road crossing warning systems, but excluding the installation or alteration of road crossing signs.
• The construction or alteration of any line works that may affect drainage on land adjoining the land on which a line of railway is situated.

In accordance with Section 5(1) of the Notice of Railway Works Regulations, a Notice of Railway Works must be given:

• In the case of a railway company proposing to construct or alter line works, notice must be given to the municipality, or municipalities, in which the line works will be or are located and to any owner of land immediately abutting land on which the line works are situated.
• In the case of any party proposing to construct a road crossing, excluding the installation of a road crossing warning system, notice must be given to the following:
  • The railway company whose line is to be crossed.
  • The municipality in which the crossing works are to be located.
  • The authority having responsibility for the road in question.
  • Any owner of land immediately abutting land on which the crossing works are situated.

Please note that a copy of the Notice of Railway Works must also be sent to the Director of the regional Railway Safety Directorate office that has jurisdiction over the railway at the location of the proposed works.

In accordance with Section 4(c) of the Notice of Railway Works Regulations, the content of the Notice of Railway Works must include:

• A drawing showing the location of the proposed works,
• A description of the proposed works with general plans, including elevations of proposed structures,
• A description of any impact that the proposed works may have on the safety of persons and property, and
• The proposed date of commencement and the projected time for completion of the proposed works.

Section 11 of the Railway Safety Act requires that a professional engineer must be responsible for the engineering work.

For crossing closure, as stated in Section 12.1 of the Railway Safety Act, the key requirement of the agreement is that the person's rights relating to the crossing are extinguished (the agreement will be filed with the Canadian Transportation Agency).

Pursuant to the Impact Assessment Act, an environmental assessment of a project may have to be completed, in accordance with Transport Canada instructions, prior to the commencement of any project-related works and prior to Transport Canada providing financial assistance.

11.4 Reporting requirements

Reporting requirements will be established in the funding agreement based on the type of project submitted, and may include financial claims, list of invoices, progress reports, bi-annual reports, and a final report, among other elements.

Progress reports

• Recipients may be required to submit progress reports, as identified in the funding agreement.
• Progress reports will identify the progress achieved during the reporting period and accompany financial claims.
• For multi-year projects, the recipient may be required to produce annual reports.
• These reports will include but may not be limited to the following:
  • A detailed description of the project's progress, major achievements during the year and an update on how the project is moving forward and how it relates to the project's initial objectives and final results.
  • Updated data on performance indicators indicated in funding agreement compared to the start of the project.
• The recipient will ensure that appropriate data collection processes are in place to enable the capture and reporting of the performance indicators used to measure the achievement of the project's outcomes.
• Annual reporting on the recipient's eligible expenditures incurred and based on the breakdown of the eligible expenditures claimed, in accordance with the funding agreement budget.
• Highlights of communications activities of the project during the reporting period.
• Issues, areas of concern or risk factors that may affect completion, the schedule or the budget of the project, as per original plans and the proposed mitigation strategies to correct the situation.

Final reports

• When the project is complete, recipients may be required to submit a final report as established in the funding agreement.
• In those instances, Transport Canada must receive the final report before it will pay the final expense claim.
• Along with the information required in the Annual Report, recipients may be asked to include:
  • An overall assessment and analysis of the objectives met, outcomes achieved, and lessons learned.
  • Examples of any promotional items produced during the project.
  • Any surveys, analyses, reports and/or research and raw data associated to the project.

11.5 Payment requirements

Recipients can only submit claims for reimbursement of expenditures incurred that are identified in the funding agreement.

The recipient is responsible for notifying Transport Canada when the work is complete. This must be done within 30 days of completion. The recipient is also responsible for submitting a detailed invoice listing to Transport Canada that includes all third-party invoices as back-up to support the costs being claimed. Only those costs eligible under the program can be claimed on the invoice. In addition, upon submitting the invoice, the recipient must disclose the amount of funding expected to be received from all other government sources (federal, provincial, territorial, or municipal).

11.6 Stacking Limits

The maximum level of total Canadian government funding (municipal, provincial, territorial, and federal) authorized by the RSIP terms and conditions cannot exceed one hundred percent (100%) of total eligible expenditures.

Please note that the remaining portion of your project may be funded by another Canadian government funding program; however, it is important to refer to the stacking limits of the other program. In the event of different stacking limits between programs, the more restrictive (lower) stacking limit takes precedence.

11.7 Other funding agreement clauses

All recipients must respect the spirit and intent of the Official Languages Act when delivering a project funded under the RSIP. Linguistic requirements may apply to projects depending on their scope (national, regional, or local), or on the specificity of the regions and targeted audiences of projects. Transport Canada will work with successful recipients to determine how this will apply to their projects.

12. How to apply

Section 12.1 explains how to submit your online application and section 12.2 explains how to get your GCKey.

Each application must be submitted through the online application portal and should include all the necessary information that is requested based on project type.If you have any questions or concerns, please contact: TC.RSIP-PASF.TC@tc.gc.ca.

12.1 Submitting your application package

The RSIP is not accepting any applications for funding at this time.

If you are experiencing issues with the application portal, please contact TC.RSIP-PASF.TC@TC.GC.CA for an alternative application method.

Note: After an application has been submitted, it cannot be edited or deleted by the applicant – review applications for accuracy before submitting.

Once you have set up your GCKey (instructions shown below) and logged into the portal, select the application form:

• Climate Change and Adaptation to Extreme Weather Infrastructure

Each application must be completed and submitted prior to starting subsequent applications.

The application form can be saved and returned to at any time using the “Save” function at the bottom of the web page. When you have completed the full application form and included all supporting documentation, you will need to click the “Preview” button which will allow you to review the entire form. At the bottom of the preview page, you will find the button to submit your application. An auto generated email will be sent to you to confirm the receipt of your submission. You can also check the “My Submissions” section of the portal to ensure that the application was successfully submitted. If your application is showing as “In progress”, it has not been submitted. If it is showing as “Submitted”, then your application has been successfully received by the system.

Once submitted, the application cannot be edited or deleted by the applicant. If changes are required, the applicant must resubmit a new, completed application form. Applicants must contact and notify Transport Canada at TC.RSIP-PASF.TC@tc.gc.ca if a resubmission is required, or if they have decided to withdraw their application.

To save a copy of the application, you can use your web browser's “Print to PDF” function. This can usually be found in the window that opens when you select “Print” in your browser. Look through the available printers, select your “Print to PDF” device, and select “Print”. A PDF should be generated and open on your screen.

If you do not receive the confirmation email it means that your application was not successfully submitted. Please double check the portal and resubmit or reach out to the RSIP team for assistance.

Electronic Mailing Address

Any questions or concerns can be directed to: TC.RSIP-PASF.TC@TC.GC.CA.

How to Obtain a GCKey

A GCKey is a unique electronic credential provided by the Government of Canada that allows you to communicate securely with online enabled Government programs and services.

• Click on “Continue to GCKey” to proceed to the registration page.
• Read and accept the GCKey Terms and Conditions of Use.
• Create a username and password.
• Applicants will be required to create three security questions.

The submitted application is tied to the GCKey of the individual who submitted it. The submitted application can only be accessed by that specific GCKey.

For more information and FAQs about GCKey, please visit the GCKey information page.

IMPORTANT: GCKey has an automatic time-out feature that will log you out after a certain period if you are not active. If your page times out, restart your browser and re-input the online application link. From there you will be able to log back in normally.

Any questions or concerns can be directed to: TC.RSIP-PASF.TC@TC.GC.CA

If you are experiencing issues with the application portal, please contact TC.RSIP-PASF.TC@TC.GC.CA for an alternative application method.

If there are any concerns regarding the safety of rail lines or rail property, road authorities and railway companies are encouraged to contact Transport Canada Rail Safety.

Glossary

Climate Change

Changes in long-term weather patterns caused by natural phenomena and human activities that alter the chemical composition of the atmosphere through the buildup of greenhouse gases, which trap heat and reflect it back to the earth's surface.

Climate Change Adaptation

Climate change adaptation is any initiative or action in response to actual or projected climate change impacts that reduces the effects of climate change on built, natural and social systems. It is one of the ways to respond to climate change, along with mitigation.

Extreme Weather Event

A meteorological event that is rare at a specific place and time of year, such as an intense storm, tornado, hailstorm, flood or heat wave, and is beyond the normal range of activity. An extreme weather event would normally occur very rarely or fall into the tenth percentile of probability.

Grade X

An internal tool to Transport Canada that ranks grade crossings by comparing them against each other based on the following risk factors:

• Transportation Safety Board (TSB) data on rail occurrences;
• the volume of road and railway traffic;
• maximum train and vehicle speeds;
• number of tracks and lanes;
• urban or rural environment; and
• warning systems in place at the crossing (i.e. gates, bells, lights).

Visit the Grade Crossing Inventory website for more details and access to the data.

Investigations

To advance safety in air, marine, pipeline, and rail transportation, the Transportation Safety Board (TSB):

• conducts independent investigations into transportation occurrences;
• if necessary, communicates important safety deficiencies to those able to address them right away, before an investigation is complete;
• once investigations are complete, reports publicly on the investigation, the factors that caused or contributed to the occurrence, and the safety deficiencies that need to be addressed;
• makes and follows up on recommendations designed to eliminate or reduce safety deficiencies found in the course of investigations.

The TSB does not have the mandate or authority to implement specific corrective actions. Such actions are taken by change agents such as regulatory agencies, manufacturers, and operating companies.
Find out more about the TSB investigation process and how the TSB communicates safety information in order to improve transportation safety. Also see how the TSB collaborates internationally.

Mitigation Measures

Mitigation measures are those that eliminate or reduce the impacts and risks of hazards through proactive measures taken before an emergency or disaster occurs.

Notices

Notices and Orders are issued by the Transportation Safety Board for grade crossings that are not compliant to various sections of the Railway Safety Act.

Orders

Notices and Orders are issued by the Transportation Safety Board for grade crossings that are not compliant to various sections of the Railway Safety Act.

Rehabilitation Measures

Climate rehabilitation/disaster recovery measures are those that repair damage from significant weather events immediately after an incident to protect people, property, and the environment.

Resilience

The capacity of a system, community or society exposed to hazards to adapt by resisting or changing in order to reach and maintain an acceptable level of functioning and structure.

Safety advisories

Safety advisories are letters sent to regulatory or industry stakeholders to inform them about potentially unsafe acts or conditions identified during an investigation that pose low to medium risks. The advisories suggest remedial action to reduce those risks. If a potentially unsafe act or condition needs to be addressed right away, an advisory will be sent before the investigation has been completed.

Safety information letters

The Transportation Safety Board sends safety information letters to regulatory and/or industry stakeholders to advise them of potentially unsafe acts or conditions identified during an investigation that pose low risks and do not require immediate remedial action. The letters aim to promote safety or clarify issues that a stakeholder is already examining, and are sent before the investigation has been completed.

Vulnerability

The degree to which a system or jurisdiction is susceptible to harm arising from climate change impacts. It is a function of a community's sensitivity to climate change and its capacity to adapt to climate change impacts.