British Columbia Ferry Services Inc. v. Canadian Transportation Accident Investigation & Safety Board

This application arose out of the sinking of a passenger ferry, the Queen of the North. The sinking was investigated by the Transportation Safety Board (“TSB”) who, as part of the investigation, retrieved the electronic chart system (“ECS”) hard drive from the sunken wreck. The data was provided to the ship owner by the TSB pursuant to an agreement in which the ship owner agreed to keep the data in confidence and only to use it to respond to the draft report of the TSB. The ship owner wanted to use the data for other purposes and brought this application for an order entitling it to do so. The ship owner argued that the disclosure of the data would not in any way impair the functions of the TSB. The Court, however, held that the terms of the agreement governed and should be enforced.