February 02, 2007

Thank you Mr. Chairman.

I am pleased to comment on the improvements to Bill C-11 that have been made by the Standing Committee on Transport, Infrastructure, and Communities. 

Before I do so, I’d like to remind members that C-11 is the second of three bills on amendments to the Canada Transportation Act that are the legislative priorities for the Minister of Transport, Infrastructure, and Communities. 

With respect to the first bill, the International Bridges and Tunnels Act, clause-by-clause study was ompleted by the Standing Senate Committee on Transport and Communications on December 12, 2006. 

The third bill will address the rail shipper protection provisions of the Act.  The Minister is hoping that a bill can be tabled in the coming weeks. 

The Standing Committee on Transport, Infrastructure, and Communities heard testimony from a wide range of witnesses and received a number of briefs. 

In addition to Minister Cannon and officials from Transport Canada, witnesses included representatives from

• the Canadian Transportation Agency,
• the Air Transport Association of Canada,
• the Travelers Protection Initiative, citizens groups concerned about railway noise,
• commuter rail operators,
• the Railway Association of Canada,
• Canadian National Railway,
• Transport 2000,
• Teamsters Canada, and
• the Farmer Rail Car Coalition. 

I would like to take this opportunity to thank the Committee for taking the time to hear from these witnesses and for conducting a thorough review of the bill.
 
The vast majority of the witnesses supported the Bill and all were seeking expeditious passage.  This is not surprising since the sorts of changes being proposed have been debated since the year 2000 and a reasonable consensus had been reached on most of the proposed amendments. 

Although there was broad support for passage of the bill, many witnesses requested that improvements be made.  The Committee has considered these requests and made a number of changes that will benefit the

• users of the transportation system,
• urban transit providers,
• communities, and
• carriers.
  

I want to summarize the main changes for the members of the House.

The Act contains a statement on the National Transportation Policy that is being updated and simplified in Bill C-11. 

The policy statement provides general direction in the development of

• programs,
• regulations,
• investments, and
• specific policies. 

It also provides general direction to the Canadian Transportation Agency and the courts in interpreting the Act.  The recommendations from the Committee will improve the references to safety, security and a sustainable environment while streamlining and updating the policy statement.

Bill C-11 ensures the Canadian Transportation Agency has the proper legal authority to provide mediation services to interested parties such as shippers and railways.  The Agency has had good results under a pilot project on this alternative dispute resolution approach and there is strong support for this provision.  The Committee has reduced the proposed timeframe for meditation from 60 days to 30 days in order to make it a more effective and expeditious tool. 

The Committee’s changes will also permit interested parties to use the Agency in commercial dispute resolution processes including both mediation and arbitration.  Some stakeholders have indicated that they would like access to the Agency’s expertise even under commercial processes.  The improvements will enable stakeholders to address conflicts voluntarily and in a less confrontational manner.

The current Canada Transportation Act requires the Minister of Transport to table annual reports on the state of transportation in the country.  Bill C-11 had proposed that this be changed to every three years.  The changes put forward by the Committee would retain the obligation to table annual reports but they would be less detailed and focus more on an overview of system performance including trend analysis. 

In addition, the Committee recommended that more comprehensive reports be tabled every 5 years.  Transport Canada would continue to make existing detailed transportation data available on its website for stakeholders who wish to do their own analysis.

The Canada Transportation Act permits the Minister of Transport to undertake a public interest review of significant mergers or acquisitions in the airline industry.  This review complements the review of competition issues conducted by the Commissioner of Competition.  Bill C-11 would extend this provision to cover all modes. 

One of the first steps would be a decision by the Minister that the proposed transaction raises issues that warrant a public review.  The Bill provides for the Minister to issue guidelines related to this review.  Amendments approved by the Committee would require the Minister to consult with the Competition Bureau in developing the guidelines and to include the factors that would be taken into consideration when determining whether a public interest review should be conducted.

The Committee approved a number of important changes related to airline service in Canada.  One change would require the Canadian Transportation Agency to report on the complaints it receives in carrying out its air travel complaints function, including

• the number and nature of complaints,
• the carriers against whom the complaints were made,
• how the complaints were addressed, and
• systemic trends. 

This information would be included in the Agency’s annual report.  I should note, Mr. Speaker, that the Agency already publishes information regarding many important airline consumer issues in its annual report and on its website.  These changes would be improvements to an already open and transparent reporting process. 
 
Bill C-11 contains a provision that would give the Agency the authority to develop regulations on airfare advertising for air services within or originating in Canada.  The amendment made by the Committee would oblige the Agency to make the regulations on airfare advertising following passage of this Bill.

Bill C-11 contains a provision that would allow the Agency to resolve disputes on railway noise if the railway and complainant could not resolve the dispute through voluntary measures.  This provision attracted considerable interest and generated much discussion.  The committee made a number of amendments to the noise provisions that will hopefully improve the coexistence of communities and railways. 

First, the Committee added vibrations as a matter that would be subject to the provision. 

Secondly, the Committee changed the standard to which the railways would be held.  Bill C-11 would have required railways to “not cause unreasonable noise” when constructing or operating a railway.  The obligation now would be to “cause as little noise or vibration as possible”.  

Finally, the Committee’s amendments would add the potential impact on persons residing on properties adjacent to the railway as a factor that a railway must take into consideration when it attempts to cause as little noise or vibration as possible.

In closing, I would like thank the Committee members for their due diligence and cooperation in improving the Bill. 

I would also encourage the House to move quickly to approve the bill.  There is a lot of support for the bill and I think we owe it to the many stakeholders who have waited patiently for over 5 years for these provisions.

Thank you Mr. Chairman.