ARCHIVED - Canadian Transportation Agency

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Section I: Overview

1.1 Message from the Chair and Chief Executive Officer 

As the Chair and Chief Executive Officer of the Canadian Transportation Agency, I am pleased to present the 2007-2008 Departmental Performance Report, which demonstrates the Agency's role in the achievement of an efficient and accessible transportation system for Canadians.

During this past year, significant accomplishments have been realized and progress has been made toward the commitments identified in the Report on Plans and Priorities. The most notable achievement has been the design of a new organizational structure which was implemented as of April 1, 2008. The new structure emerges from an organization-wide focus on renewal that is aimed at ensuring that the Agency remains a centre of excellence on transportation-related matters and responds to the twin challenges of succession and recruitment.

A new Agency Strategic Outcome and Program Activity Architecture reflecting the Agency multi-year strategic plan, performance management framework and new organizational structure will be used for the 2009-2010 Performance Report.

The focus on renewal has also led to the development of a multi-year strategic plan that sets out Agency priorities and commitments for the next three years. A performance measurement framework has also been implemented, which includes multi-year targets for service delivery standards and strategies for improvement. To deliver more timely decisions, we have improved our caseload management procedures. As you will see in this report, tangible results have been achieved through these efforts.

As we look toward the future, I am confident that the progress made during the past year will serve as a solid foundation for the Agency's objective to be a leading Canadian public service organization that effectively and efficiently fulfils its mandate and provides high-quality service to Canadians.

Geoffrey C. Hare
Chair and Chief Executive Officer

1.2 Management Representation Statement

I submit for tabling in Parliament, the 2007-2008 Departmental Performance Report for the Canadian Transportation Agency.

This document has been prepared based on the reporting principles contained in the Guide for the Preparation of Part III of the 2007-2008 Estimates: Reports on Plans and Priorities and Departmental Performance Reports:

• It adheres to the specific reporting requirements outlined in the Treasury Board Secretariat guidance;
• It is based on the Agency's Strategic Outcome and Program Activity Architecture that were approved by the Treasury Board;
• It presents consistent, comprehensive, balanced and reliable information;
• It provides a basis of accountability for the results achieved with the resources and authorities entrusted to it; and
• It reports finances based on approved numbers from the Estimates and the Public Accounts of Canada.

Geoffrey C. Hare
Chair and Chief Executive Officer
November 7, 2008

1.3 Summary Information

Reason for Existence

In its administration of federal transportation legislation and government policies, the Canadian Transportation Agency helps create an efficient and accessible federal transportation system for the benefit of Canadians.

The Agency is an independent, quasi-judicial, administrative tribunal that makes decisions on a wide range of matters affecting the federal transportation system. It licenses rail and air carriers, and has the authority to resolve some transportation rate, service and other complaints in the rail, air and marine modes and to make regulations when required. It also has the authority to remove undue obstacles to the mobility of persons with disabilities who use the federal transportation system. In addition, the Agency implements the transportation policy established by Parliament in the Canada Transportation Act and other legislation. It is also the aeronautical authority for Canada on matters related to the economic regulation of air carriers.

Mandate and Mission

The Agency's mandate is to administer the economic regulatory provisions of Acts of Parliament affecting all modes of transportation under federal jurisdiction (refer to section 4.6 for a list of legislation and regulations that the Agency administers in whole or in part).

Education and consultation are integral to the Agency's effectiveness in carrying out its mandate. The Agency works closely with those who use and provide transportation services in Canada and others directly affected by them. It helps travellers, shippers, carriers, municipalities and others to fully understand not only their rights and obligations under the Canada Transportation Act, but also the Agency's roles and responsibilities. When appropriate, the Agency encourages parties to resolve disputes informally before issues escalate and impact the transportation system. The Agency consults as widely as possible on issues that are important to the transportation industry. By remaining open and by listening to all affected parties, the Agency ensures that its decisions are both responsive and responsible.

More information about the Agency can be found on its Web site at http://www.cta.gc.ca. More specifically, information about the Agency's structure, its mission, its values and its operations can be found at http://www.cta.gc.ca/about-nous/index_e.html.

Below is the Agency's Strategic Outcome and Program Activity Architecture for the 2007-2008 reporting period, as approved by the Treasury Board.

• A fair and transparent economic regulatory regime that helps achieve a viable and accessible national transportation system
  • Economic regulation of the federal transportation system
    • Air Transportation
    • Rail Transportation
    • Marine Transportation
    • Accessible Transportation
    • Members and Regulatory Support
  • Corporate Services
    • Finance and Administration
    • Human Resources
    • Communications
    • Information Management / Information Technology

Financial and Human Resources Information

The resources used in relation to this outcome in fiscal year 2007-2008 are summarized in the following tables.

Financial Resources (thousands of dollars)

2007-2008
Planned Spending	Total Authorities	Actual
27,214	27,892	25,491

Human Resources (full-time equivalents, or FTEs)

2007-2008
Planned	Actual	Difference
255	234	21

Planned and Actual Spending by priority, 2007-2008 ($ thousands)

Expected Results	Performance Status	Planned Spending	Actual spending	Contributes to the following priority
STRATEGIC OUTCOME: A fair and transparent economic regulatory regime that helps achieve a viable and accessible national transportation system
PROGRAM ACTIVITY: Economic regulation of the federal transportation system
Fair, effective and efficient resolution of federal transportation issues Removal of undue obstacles for persons with disabilities from federal transportation network Protection of the economic and other interests of transportation users, carriers and other affected parties	Successfully met	27,214	25,491	Departmental Priority 1, 2 and 3

Operating Environment and Context

Parliament funds the Agency through an operating expenditures vote. The Agency operates within the context of the very large and complex Canadian transportation system (for details, refer to Transport Canada's Web site at http://www.tc.gc.ca).

As an independent quasi-judicial tribunal, the Agency makes decisions on a wide range of matters involving federally regulated modes of transportation (air, rail, marine and, for certain accessibility matters, extra-provincial bus transportation). Most of the Agency's activities and workload are generated by demand from users and operators of the federal transportation system. The tribunal's decisions are rendered by Agency Members, who are appointed by the Governor in Council. They include the Chair, who also acts as the Chief Executive Officer, and the Vice-Chair, who are both members of the Executive Committee.

The Agency applies a decision-making process that is governed by the rules of fairness and the legislation, regulations and legal principles applicable to each case. This is to ensure that all parties to a complaint or an application are dealt with fairly and equitably. The Agency also ensures that Agency Members and staff maintain a high level of expertise in the transportation field and keep abreast of the constant evolution of the industry and its players. More information on the process is available on the Agency's Web site at http://www.cta.gc.ca/about-nous/decision_process_e.html.

Where possible, the Agency offers facilitation and mediation as alternatives to its formal process. These alternatives allow parties to resolve their issues in an informal manner that is faster, less litigious and less costly to all parties than the Agency's traditional decision-making process. In facilitation and mediation, the disputing parties work together to develop solutions and produce collaborative outcomes. This results in a better understanding between the parties and in agreements that inspire high levels of satisfaction and commitment.

During 2007-2008, a number of factors influenced the delivery of the Agency's activities and services, notably the following:

Legislative changes

The Canada Transportation Act is the Agency's enabling statute to implement the federal government's transportation policy. The Agency also shares responsibility for administering other Acts and their related regulations, including the Canada Marine Act, the Pilotage Act, the Coasting Trade Act, and the Railway Safety Act.

A thorough statutory review of the Canada Transportation Act was completed in 2001.  The amendments to the Act, as a result of Bill C-11 and Bill C-8, are the culmination of extensive discussions and consultations aimed at updating the legislative framework that governs significant components of Canada's national transportation system. Both Bill C-11 and Bill C-8 are elements of the federal government's legislative strategy for amending the Canada Transportation Act.

Bill C-11, an Act to amend the Canada Transportation Act and the Railway Safety Act and to make consequential amendments to other Acts, received Royal Assent in June 2007. Amendments focus on balancing the interests of communities, consumers and urban transit authorities with those of air carriers and railways.

Bill C-11 amended legislative provisions under which the Agency may mediate, investigate, regulate or decide on matters as varied as air travel complaints and railway noise.

Highlights of Bill C-11:

General

• Strengthens the Agency's authority to mediate disputes as an alternative to its formal process if the parties in dispute agree.
• Authorizes the Minister of Transport to direct the Agency to examine and report on issues of public interest in certain mergers and acquisitions relating to all national transportation.

Rail

• Gives the Agency authority to resolve noise and vibration complaints caused by the construction or operation of railways and public passenger rail services.
• Provides that the Minister of Transport may request the Agency to adjust, once only, the volume-related composite price index to reflect the costs incurred by CN and CPR for maintenance of hopper cars used for the movement of Western Grain.
• Expands the Agency's role to decide on matters such as compensation for the use of facilities and services when public passenger rail operators cannot negotiate a commercial agreement with a railway.
• Expands provisions on railway line transfers and discontinuances of rail corridors in urban areas that could be used for urban transit purposes. Governments and urban transit authorities can also now apply to the Agency for a net salvage value determination prior to accepting the railway company's offer to acquire a railway line.

Air

• Integrates the Air Travel Complaints Program into the operations of the Agency, including the requirement to report on the number and nature of complaints received, the names of carriers and any systemic trends observed.
• Once in force, provides for the development of regulations by the Agency to ensure airline advertising practices are sufficiently transparent, allowing consumers to identify the true cost of flights within or originating in Canada.
• Requires domestic air carriers to post their terms and conditions of carriage on any Web site selling their domestic services.
• Enables the Agency to make regulations requiring a licensee or carrier to display terms and conditions of carriage of its international air services on its Web site if used for selling these services.
• Authorizes the Agency to make regulatory changes to direct international carriers that are not licensees to pay out-of-pocket expenses when they have failed to apply their tariff.
• Requires domestic air carriers to post signs prominently at their business offices advising passengers that their tariff, including the terms and conditions of carriage, is available for public inspection.

In February 2008, Bill C-8, an Act to amend the Canada Transportation Act (railway transportation), received Royal Assent and contains amendments to rail transportation. Most notably rail freight transportation.

Highlights of Bill C-8:

• Expands final offer arbitration to groups of shippers on matters common to all shippers and relating to rates or conditions for the movement of goods, when the shippers make a joint offer.
• Removes a requirement that the Agency be satisfied that a shipper would suffer substantial commercial harm before imposing a remedy for disputes relating to level of service, interswitching rates and competitive line rates.
• Increases the notice period for rate increases by railway companies for the movement of traffic to 30 days from 20.
• Upon a shipper's complaint, permits the Agency to investigate certain charges and conditions for the movement of traffic or provision of incidental services that may apply to more than one shipper, and make changes if they are found to be unreasonable.
• Allows for suspension of any final offer arbitration process if both parties consent to pursue mediation.

Outcome of appeals of key agency decisions

On March 23, 2007, the Supreme Court of Canada upheld significant Agency decisions that were issued in 2003 regarding the inaccessibility of VIA Rail's new Renaissance passenger rail cars to persons with disabilities. The Supreme Court of Canada's decision regarding the Council of Canadians with Disabilities v. VIA Rail Canada Inc. confirmed that Part V of the Canada Transportation Act is human rights legislation. As a result, the Agency is to apply the same human rights principles found in other human rights legislation, such as the Canadian Human Rights Act, and the jurisprudence that develops thereunder. More specifically, the Supreme Court has clarified the test that should be applied by the Agency in its investigation of accessibility cases and service providers are now required to meet a specific test of undue hardship in the assessment of whether reasonable accommodation has been provided to persons with disabilities. As the undue hardship test places a reverse burden of proof on service providers, their response to the new test - as reflected in their arguments made in reply to alleged undue obstacles - may have an impact on the time and resources required by the Agency in the processing of accessibility complaints for both individuals and where specific systemic issues are identified.

As of April 1, 2007, there were six appeal cases pending before the Federal Court of Appeal. During the 2007-2008 fiscal year, 13 new appeal cases were filed before the Court. The Court has rendered decisions on three of the appeals and the Agency's decisions were upheld in two of these cases. Therefore, as of April 1, 2008, 16 cases remain before the Courts.

Government-wide initiatives

The Agency's response to the Government of Canada management agenda has two distinct but inter-related dimensions. The first is to strengthen its accountability and stewardship. It has done so by ensuring that it uses the Management Accountability Framework in decision making. One of the most significant initiatives in 2007-2008 involved the development and implementation of a performance measurement framework along with targets. The framework will allow the Agency to improve its ability to analyze and report on its performance and the achievement of its strategic objectives.

The Agency also acted to strengthen its internal audit function. It undertook to fully implement the new policies and directives with respect to internal audit by requiring that the internal auditor comply with the qualifications as outlined in the Guidelines on Expected Qualifications for Chief Audit Executives. It has also decided to develop a risk-based audit plan, which would complement the work undertaken by the Comptroller General for small departments and agencies. This voluntary additional oversight will result in improved stewardship and accountability.

The second dimension is to act on the priority of public service renewal. This challenge is particularly acute for small organizations such as the Agency, which require highly specialized expertise to fulfil their mandates. In addition to succession planning, other considerations such as employment equity, requirements of the Public Service Modernization Act, values and ethics and learning are all integral to organizational performance. Given the interdependence of these dimensions and their effect on performance, the Agency is revising its three-year strategic human resources plan. This plan identifies several key measures specifically to enable and facilitate organizational renewal.

Facilitation and mediation

In addition to formal adjudication, the Agency offers facilitation services to attempt to informally resolve, at the staff level, disputes or concerns regarding future travel.  Facilitation does not require parties to file a formal complaint. However, if they have already done so, facilitation provides a means of resolving their concerns on a more timely basis and to the parties' satisfaction.

The Agency has offered mediation as an alternative to its formal adjudication process since 2000 on a pilot basis; however, it is now officially entrenched in the Canada Transportation Act. Voluntary and informal, mediation is confidential and relatively non-adversarial, allowing disputing parties to understand other perspectives, identify facts, check assumptions, recognize common ground and test possible solutions. The process allows disputing parties to develop creative solutions that may not be available through formal adjudication.

In 2007-2008, the Agency continued to offer mediation and facilitation, reaffirming its belief in voluntary dispute resolution as one of its core processes. A diverse range of accessible transportation, commercial and infrastructure disputes were referred to mediation in 2007-2008. The Agency received 46 new requests for mediation, compared with 23 in 2006-2007.

In addition to the new requests in 2007-2008, there were 18 mediation requests carried over from the previous year, resulting in a total of 64 mediation requests, of which 46 cases were closed. Of these:

• 19 cases were settled by mediation;
• in eight cases mediation was declined by the respondent, in seven cases the request for mediation was withdrawn, in four cases mediation was not successful;
• in three cases the Agency did not accept the request for mediation;
• three cases were closed due to inactivity on the file;
• two cases were settled prior to mediation; and
• 18 cases were pending at year end.

The Agency used facilitation to successfully resolve 28 accessibility-related complaints.

Summary of Performance by Departmental Priority

The Agency pursued the following departmental priorities during 2007-2008:

Priority	Type	Performance Status
1. Addressing Agency workload and resource challenges	Previously committed to	Partially attained and on-going
2. Succession planning	Previously committed to	Partially attained and on-going
3. Improving the dispute resolution system	Previously committed to	Partially attained and on-going

Addressing Agency workload and resource challenges

The Agency has taken important steps to ensure that it has the ability to respond to shifts in the volume and nature of its workload within its resource base. As a result of this focus, several accomplishments were realized.

The most significant is a redesign of the Agency's organizational structure, which has been relatively unchanged for the past fifteen years. This new structure will enhance the Agency's ability to respond to changes and reallocate resources where they are most needed. The new structure was in place effective April 1, 2008.

The Agency conducts an annual resource allocation exercise that integrates forecasts of workload, operational requirements, human resource objectives and strategic priorities. This is an important step in ensuring that it uses the funds allocated by Parliament to attain better results for Canadians.

The Agency also continued to enhance its work processes and systems. For example, after piloting a streamlined Agency decision format in several areas, the Agency expanded the use of this format and trained staff in its use. While maintaining its integrity as a legal document, the new format is easier to use, more concise and less resource intensive.

Addressing succession planning

The Agency continued to develop a flexible staffing regime that more effectively supports its succession strategies by increasing the use of staffing pools for similar positions. The key goal of the new organizational structure is to improve responsiveness to changing workload demands, and to provide greater learning and knowledge transfer opportunities between employees working in similar functions. The new organization will ensure that the pressures resulting from the loss of experienced employees will be mitigated.

The Agency continues to rely on its comprehensive, integrated human resources planning framework that focusses on corporate priorities in human resources management, and reflects the objective of more strategic staffing and recruitment.

Language training

The Agency's investment in its internal language training program continued to generate positive results in 2007-2008. Nearly 20 percent of Agency employees have enrolled in internal courses to enhance and maintain their linguistic capacity in both official languages. In addition, internal funding was allocated to provide language training to employees in key positions for succession planning purposes. Currently 199 positions are designated bilingual and 100 percent of employees fully meet the linguistic requirements for their position.

Three-year strategic human resources plan

The Agency continued to implement the Human Resources Roadmap with the following measures related to the strategic priorities:

• succession planning and maintenance of expertise as described above;
• continuous learning by contracting for a review of the Agency's policy and practices in the area of learning and development;
• values and ethics through the development of an action plan for the Values and Ethics program at the Agency;
• employment equity by updating the Agency Employment Equity plan;
• official languages through the continuation of the language training program described above; and
• greater use of generic positions and staffing pools to increase flexibility.

Improving the dispute resolution system

Many of the same measures undertaken to address the workload challenge apply to the priority to improve the dispute resolution system. A performance measurement framework with indicators and targets was established to monitor and evaluate the effectiveness of those processes. Information systems were also enhanced in order to facilitate monitoring and forecasting workload as well as to streamline processes. Several business processes were adjusted and are expected to improve responsiveness. Other tools, such as the simplified decision format, were also deployed to achieve this objective.

Link to the Government of Canada Outcome Areas

The Agency's Strategic Outcome and Program Activity are directly aligned with the broader Government of Canada Strategic Outcome of a fair and secure marketplace. The regulatory programs that the Agency implements are designed to resolve economic issues, to remove transportation barriers and to protect the rights of consumers, carriers and other interested parties. These programs help improve the overall quality of life in Canada, as an efficient and accessible transportation system benefits all Canadians.

The Agency is one of many players involved in transportation and it maintains close ties with its various co-delivery partners, including Transport Canada, the Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade, the Canada Border Services Agency, the Canadian Human Rights Commission, and a number of provincial governments. For details on these relationships, refer to the Agency's Web site at http://www.cta.gc.ca/about-nous/partners_e.html.

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