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Bill C-26

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2nd Session, 37th Parliament,
51-52 Elizabeth II, 2002-2003

House of Commons of Canada

BILL C-26

An Act to amend the Canada Transportation Act and the Railway Safety Act, to enact the VIA Rail Canada Act and to make consequential amendments to other Acts

      Her Majesty, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate and House of Commons of Canada, enacts as follows:

SHORT TITLE

Short title

1. This Act may be cited as the Transportation Amendment Act.

PART 1

1996, c. 10

CANADA TRANSPORTATION ACT

2. Subsection 4(2) of the Canada Transportation Act is replaced by the following:

Competition Act

(2) Subject to subsection (3) , nothing in or done under the authority of this Act affects the operation of the Competition Act where the enforcement of that Act is undertaken by or on behalf of the Commissioner of Competition or the Attorney General of Canada.

International agreements or conventions

(3) In the event of any inconsistency or conflict between an international agreement or convention respecting air services to which Canada is a party and the Competition Act, the provisions of the agreement or convention prevail to the extent of the inconsistency or conflict.

3. Section 5 of the Act is replaced by the following:

Declaration

5. It is declared that an economic and efficient transportation system that is safe and secure and respects the environment is essential to serve the needs of users of transportation services and to maintain the well-being of Canadians and that those objectives are most likely to be achieved under conditions ensuring that

    (a) competition and market forces are, whenever possible, the prime agents in providing viable and effective transportation services;

    (b) regulation occurs only if it is necessary to achieve economic, environmental or social outcomes that cannot be achieved sufficiently by competition and market forces and it does not unduly favour, or reduce the inherent advantages of, any particular mode of transportation;

    (c) the best use is made of all available modes of transportation at the lowest cost;

    (d) the price paid by users for transportation services better reflects the full cost of services chosen;

    (e) transportation services are accessible without undue obstacle to the mobility of persons, including persons with disabilities; and

    (f) governments and the private sector work together for the achievement of an integrated transportation system.

4. (1) Subsections 27(2) and (3) of the Act are repealed.

(2) Subsection 27(5) of the Act is repealed.

5. The Act is amended by adding the following after section 36:

Mediation

Request by parties

36.1 (1) If there is a dispute concerning a matter within the jurisdiction of the Agency, all the parties to the dispute may, by agreement, make a request to the Agency for mediation. On receipt of the request, the Agency shall refer the dispute for mediation.

Referral by Agency

(2) The Agency may, on its own initiative, refer for mediation a dispute concerning any matter that is before it.

Appointment of mediator

(3) When a dispute is referred for mediation, the Chairperson shall appoint one or two persons to mediate the dispute.

Mediator not to act in other proceedings

(4) A person who is appointed to mediate a dispute may not act in any other proceedings before the Agency in relation to that matter.

Confidentia-
lity of mediation

(5) All matters relating to the mediation of a dispute shall be kept confidential, unless the parties to the dispute otherwise agree, and information provided by a party for the purposes of mediation shall not be used for any other purpose without the consent of that party.

Time limit for completion of mediation

(6) Unless the parties to a dispute otherwise agree, the mediation of the dispute shall be completed within 30 days after the dispute is referred for mediation.

Effect of mediation on proceedings

(7) The mediation has the effect of

    (a) staying for the period of the mediation any proceedings before the Agency in so far as they relate to a matter that is the subject of the mediation; and

    (b) extending the time within which the Agency may make a decision or determination under this Act with regard to those proceedings by the period of the mediation.

Filing of mediation agreement

(8) An agreement that is reached as a result of mediation may be filed with the Agency and, after filing, is enforceable as if it were an order of the Agency.

6. (1) The portion of subsection 50(1) of the Act before paragraph (a) is replaced by the following:

Regulations re information

50. (1) The Governor in Council may make regulations requiring any persons referred to in subsection (1.1) who are subject to the legislative authority of Parliament to provide information to the Minister, when and in the form and manner that the regulations may specify, for the purposes of

(2) Paragraph 50(1)(b) of the Act is replaced by the following:

    (b) reporting under section 52;

(3) Section 50 of the Act is amended by adding the following after subsection (1):

Persons referred to

(1.1) The persons for the purposes of subsection (1) are

    (a) carriers;

    (b) owners or operators of

      (i) transportation undertakings,

      (ii) transportation works, infrastructure, facilities or assets, and

      (iii) grain handling undertakings;

    (c) providers of services in relation to transportation, including

      (i) the Canadian Air Transport Security Authority established by subsection 5(1) of the Canadian Air Transport Security Authority Act,

      (ii) NAV CANADA, a corporation incorporated on May 26, 1995 under Part II of the Canada Corporations Act, and

      (iii) Pilotage Authorities named in the schedule to the Pilotage Act; and

    (d) any other person or class of persons specified in the regulations.

7. The Act is amended by adding the following after section 50:

Information already provided

50.1 For the purposes of subsection 50(1), if any information referred to in that subsection has already been provided to a department or agency of the Government of Canada, the Minister may request that department or agency to provide the information to the Minister.

2000, c. 16, s. 2

8. (1) Subsection 51(2) of the Act is replaced by the following:

Administra-
tive use of information

(2) Subsection (1) does not apply so as to prohibit

    (a) the communication of information to the Agency or to a minister of the Crown in right of Canada, the agent of any such minister or an officer or employee of, or adviser to , Her Majesty in right of Canada for the purposes of the administration of this Act or any other Act of Parliament or for the purposes of the development of policies;

    (b) the communication of information to persons referred to in paragraph 50(1.1)(c) that is necessary for them to carry out their duties and functions;

    (c ) the reporting of information in an aggregated form that prevents information obtained from an identifiable person from being related to that person;

    (d ) the communication of information by the Minister for the purpose of monitoring the grain transportation and handling system; or

    (e) the communication of information that is available to, or ascertainable by, the public.

Terms and conditions

(2.1) The Minister may, with the approval of the Governor in Council, make regulations respecting the terms and conditions for the communication of information referred to in subsection (2).

(2) Section 51 of the Act is amended by adding the following after subsection (3):

Requirement for other persons to maintain confidenti-
ality

(4) Any person who receives information from the Minister that is confidential under this Act shall not knowingly disclose that information and shall take the measures necessary to maintain its confidentiality.

9. (1) The portion of subsection 52(1) of the Act before paragraph (a) is replaced by the following:

Industry review

52. (1) Every two years the Minister shall prepare, and lay before the Senate and the House of Commons within the year after the end of the two-year period , a report briefly reviewing the state of transportation in Canada, including

(2) Subsection 52(2) of the Act is repealed.

10. (1) Subsections 53(1) and (2) of the Act are replaced by the following:

Statutory review

53. (1) The Minister shall, no later than 2010 , appoint one or more persons to carry out a comprehensive review of the operation of this Act and any other Act of Parliament for which the Minister is responsible that pertains to the economic regulation of a mode of transportation or to transportation activities under the legislative authority of Parliament.

Objective of review

(2) The person or persons conducting the review shall assess whether the legislation referred to in subsection (1) provides Canadians with a transportation system that is consistent with the national transportation policy set out in section 5 and, where necessary or desirable, may recommend amendments to

    (a) the national transportation policy; and

    (b) the legislation referred to in subsection (1).

(2) Subsection 53(5) of the Act is replaced by the following:

Report

(5) The review shall be completed and a report of the review submitted to the Minister within 18 months after the appointment referred to in subsection (1).

11. The Act is amended by adding the following after section 53:

Review of Mergers and Acquisitions

Notice

53.1 (1) Every person who is required to notify the Commissioner of Competition under subsection 114(1) of the Competition Act of a proposed transaction that involves a transportation undertaking shall, at the same time as the Commissioner is notified and, in any event, not later than the date by which the person is required to notify the Commissioner,

    (a) give notice of the proposed transaction to the Minister; and

    (b) in the case of a proposed transaction that involves an air transportation undertaking, also give notice of the transaction to the Agency.

Information

(2) A notice given to the Minister or to the Agency shall, subject to the regulations, contain the information required under subsection 114(1) of the Competition Act. The notice shall also contain any information with respect to the public interest as it relates to national transportation that is required under any guidelines that may be issued by the Minister. After receipt of a notice, the Minister may require the person who has given the notice to provide further information.

Not statutory instruments

(3) The guidelines referred to in subsection (2) are not statutory instruments for the purposes of the Statutory Instruments Act.

No public interest issues

(4) If the Minister is of the opinion that the proposed transaction does not raise issues with respect to the public interest as it relates to national transportation, the Minister shall, within 42 days after a person gives notice under subsection (1), give notice of the opinion to that person, in which case sections 53.2 and 53.3 do not apply in respect of that transaction.

Public interest issues

(5) If the Minister is of the opinion that the proposed transaction raises issues with respect to the public interest as it relates to national transportation, the Minister may

    (a) under section 49, direct the Agency to examine those issues; or

    (b) under section 7.1 of the Department of Transport Act, appoint and direct any person to examine those issues.

Report

(6) The Agency or person, as the case may be, shall report to the Minister within 150 days after being directed under subsection (5), or within any longer period that the Minister may allow.

Prohibition

53.2 (1) No person shall complete a proposed transaction referred to in subsection 53.1(1) unless the transaction is approved by the Governor in Council and, in the case of a transaction that involves an air transportation undertaking, the Agency determines that the transaction would result in an undertaking that is Canadian as defined in subsection 55(1).

Commissioner 's report

(2) The Commissioner of Competition shall within 150 days after the Commissioner is notified of the proposed transaction under subsection 114(1) of the Competition Act, or within any longer period that the Minister may allow, report to the Minister and the parties to the transaction on any concerns regarding potential prevention or lessening of competition that may occur as a result of the transaction.

Report to be made public

(3) The report shall be made public immediately after its receipt by the Minister.

Concerns relating to public interest and competition

(4) After receipt of the Commissioner's report and any report given under subsection 53.1(6), but before the Minister makes a recommendation for the purposes of subsection (7), the Minister shall

    (a) consult with the Commissioner regarding any overlap between any concerns that the Minister has in respect of the proposed transaction with regard to the public interest as it relates to national transportation and any concerns in respect of the transaction that are raised in the Commissioner's report; and

    (b) request the parties to the transaction to address

      (i) with the Minister any concerns that the Minister has in respect of the transaction with regard to the public interest as it relates to national transportation, and

      (ii) with the Commissioner any concerns that the Commissioner has regarding potential prevention or lessening of competition that may occur as a result of the transaction.

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