It is accountable to Parliament directly through the President of the King’s Privy Council and the Minister of Intergovernmental and Northern Affairs and Internal Trade.

The independent agency investigates accidents and makes safety recommendations in four modes of transportation: aviation, rail, marine and pipelines.

[2] The TSB was created under the Canadian Transportation Accident Investigation and Safety Board Act, which received royal assent in June 1989 and came into force March 29, 1990.

[3] It was formed in response to a number of high-profile accidents, following which the Government of Canada identified the need for an independent, multi-modal investigation agency.

[5] The provisions of the Canadian Transportation Accident Investigation and Safety Board Act were written to establish an independent relationship between the agency and the Government of Canada.

[10][11] In a news conference, then TSB chair Wendy Tadros described how eighteen factors played a role in the disaster including a "weak safety culture" at the now-defunct Montreal, Maine & Atlantic Railways with "a lack of standards, poor training and easily punctured tanks."

The first called attention to the need for effective safety procedures to be applied to all trains stopped in emergency on both "heavy grades" and "mountain grades"[13] and the second highlighted the need to review the efficacy of the inspection and maintenance procedures for grain hopper cars used in CP's unit grain train operations (and for other railways as applicable), and ensure that these cars can be operated safely at all times.