This session will feature senior safety officers sharing perspectives on the most significant safety initiatives currently confronting transit systems and the measures being implemented to address them. Participants will gain insight into the wide range of issues affecting agencies, from sharing tips on protecting vulnerable road users to operational risks and broader community concerns.

Speakers:

• Betty Hasserjian (Chief Safety Officer), TTC
  Betty is the Chief Safety Officer for the Toronto Transit Commission where she leads a team responsible for developing, implementing and overseeing safety and environmental standards and programs to protect employees, customers and the public. Her portfolio spans safety strategy and policy, occupational hygiene and environmental protection, safety operations, emergency management and fire safety, business continuity, safety assurance, and capital project safety. She played a pivotal role in guiding the TTC’s health and safety response during the COVID-19 pandemic, and since 2023, in partnership with the City of Toronto, she’s overseeing the TTC’s multi-disciplinary approach to addressing community safety, security and well-being issues on the transit system. Under her leadership, the Safety and Environment team provides guidance and direction to the organization on safety and environmental matters, driving continuous improvement, regulatory compliance, and a culture of safety and resilience across the organization. Betty has over 25 years of experience in the health, safety and environment field. She is a Certified Industrial Hygienist and holds an Honours Bachelor of Science Degree in Physiology and a Master of Health Science Degree in Occupational and Environmental Health, both from the University of Toronto.

• Sabrina Pasian (Chief Safety Officer), OC Transpo
  Sabrina Pasian is the Chief Safety Officer at OC Transpo. In this role, she oversees four distinct branches within her service area, including, the Safety Standards, Investigations and Reporting branch, the Training & Development branch, the Special Constable Unit and the Regulatory Compliance, Quality Control & Assurance. Sabrina has been with the City of Ottawa for over 20 years. She joined OC Transpo in 2016 as a Specialist in Transit Operations before establishing a new branch in 2020, the Regulatory Compliance, Quality Control & Assurance team. She was Program Manager for this new unit until stepping into her current role as Chief Safety Officer. Prior to joining Transit Services, Sabrina worked in Emergency & Protective Services in a variety of roles focusing on regulatory compliance, by-law and regulatory services and issues management. With a Master’s Degree in Criminology her professional background demonstrates her strong focus on safety and security initiatives. Sabrina is extremely passionate about driving positive change, continuous improvement, and making strides to enhance the safety and security culture within OC Transpo and across the entire transit industry.

• Farah Kassam (Vice President of Safety), Metrolinx
  Farah is a strategic and safety-focused leader with more than 20 years of experience in occupational, construction, mining, and rail safety. She has built her career on driving risk management, incident prevention, and safety culture transformation, with a strong passion for preventing serious injuries and fatalities. Her expertise spans Canadian Rail Operating Rules (CROR), Transport Canada Safety Rules (TCSR), ESG risk, Safety Management Systems, and industrial hygiene. In her current role as Vice President of Safety at Metrolinx, Farah leads an extremely diverse portfolio which includes oversight of safety standards, and investigations all while ensuring the safety of employees, passengers, and operations across one of North America’s largest transit expansion programs. Her team provides safety oversight on the GO Expansion project and Rapid Transit operations safety, ensuring compliance with legislative requirements, standards, and best practices in occupational, railway, construction, environmental, asset management, maintenance and transit safety.
  Her team is responsible for operating practices within heavy and light rail environments, the Rail Safety Management System (RSMS), and the Metrolinx enterprise Safety Management System (SMS). She also provides oversight in areas of environmental management, and safety training ensuring risks are identified, mitigated, and used as learning opportunities.
  Her scope of work includes leading Metrolinx-wide safety initiatives such as the Near Miss Campaign, Safety Engagement Tours, and Rail Safety Week in partnership with Operation Lifesaver. She also oversees deep-dive investigations into serious injury and fatality events, implements innovative approaches to protect workers in the rail corridor through the Red Zone/Green Zone program, and drives training and engagement initiatives that build frontline and leadership capacity to deliver stronger safety outcomes.