Bill C-281
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1st Session, 41st Parliament,
60 Elizabeth II, 2011
house of commons of canada
BILL C-281
An Act to amend the Canada Transportation Act (discontinuance of listed sidings)
1996, c. 10
Her Majesty, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate and House of Commons of Canada, enacts as follows:
1. The Canada Transportation Act is amended by adding the following after section 142:
Definition of “listed siding”
142.1 (1) In this section, “listed siding” means any siding that has, at any time on or after January 1, 2010, been included in a list prepared pursuant to subsection 151.1(1).
Plan for listed sidings
(2) Within 60 days after the coming into force of this section and every three years thereafter, a railway company shall prepare a plan in respect of all listed sidings indicating whether the company intends to continue to operate each listed siding or to discontinue operating the listed siding.
Plan in effect
(3) The plan shall remain in effect from the time of its preparation until December 31 of the third year after the year in which it was prepared.
Publication of plan
(4) The railway company shall publish the plan prepared under subsection (2) on its Internet site and make it available for public inspection in offices of the company that it designates for this purpose.
Limitation regarding listed sidings
(5) A railway company shall not discontinue operating a listed siding unless the railway company has, for at least three years, indicated its intention to discontinue operating the listed siding in the plan referred to in subsection (2) and the Agency has authorized the company to discontinue that listed siding.
Authorization to discontinue a listed siding
(6) On application by a railway company, the Agency may authorize the railway company to discontinue a listed siding if
(a) the Agency is satisfied that the railway company has demonstrated that the discontinuance of the listed siding is in the public interest, having regard in particular to the right of producers to be allocated railway cars under subsection 87(2) of the Canada Grain Act;
(b) at least 90 days notice of the Agency’s consideration of the matter has been given by the railway company to the public by publication of an announcement in at least two newspapers of general circulation in the area where the listed siding is located; and
(c) any government, individual or community-based group that may reasonably be expected to have an interest in the continued operation of the listed siding, and any other parties the Agency considers appropriate, have been given an adequate opportunity to make submissions to the Agency with respect to the proposed discontinuance of the listed siding.
Sale, lease or other transfer of listed siding
(7) If the federal government, a provincial, municipal or district government, or a community-based group endorsed in writing by any such government has written to a railway company or to the Agency to express an interest in acquiring all or a portion of a listed siding for the purpose of continuing to operate that siding or portion of that siding, the provisions of this Division relating to the sale, lease or other transfer of railway lines shall apply to the sale, lease or other transfer of the listed siding, with such modifications as the Agency deems appropriate.
Payment for discontinuance of listed siding
(8) A railway company that discontinues operating a listed siding, or portion of one, that is in a municipality or district shall, commencing on the date on which the application referred to in subsection (6) was made, make three annual payments to the municipality or district in the amount of $10,000 for each mile of the listed siding or portion in the municipality or district.
2. Subsection 151.1(3) of the Act is repealed.
Published under authority of the Speaker of the House of Commons
Available from:
Publishing and Depository Services
Public Works and Government Services Canada
Available from:
Publishing and Depository Services
Public Works and Government Services Canada