ARCHIVED - Transportation Appeal Tribunal of Canada

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Section II: Analysis of Program Activity by Strategic Outcome

Strategic Outcome

The strategic outcome of the Tribunal is to provide the Canadian transportation community with the opportunity to have enforcement and licensing decisions of the Minister of Transport reviewed by an independent body.

Program Activity

The Tribunal's only activity is the provision of an independent review process for aviation, marine and rail by providing document holders with the opportunity to proceed with a hearing. The Tribunal represents the only forum ensuring that document holders have access to an independent assessment governed by considerations of natural justice. Its role does not overlap with, nor is it duplicated by, any other agency, board or commission. It is unique in the transportation sector in that its function is entirely adjudicative.

The Minister's enforcement and licensing decisions may include the imposition of monetary penalties or the suspension, cancellation, refusal to issue or refusal to renew documents of entitlement for reasons of incapacity or other grounds. The person or corporation affected is referred to as the document holder.

All hearings are held expeditiously and informally, according to the rules of fairness and natural justice. At the conclusion of a hearing, the Tribunal may confirm the Minister's decision, substitute its own decision, or refer the matter to the Minister for reconsideration.

The Tribunal process is able to quickly identify concerns in the transportation sector of a technical or legislative nature leading to necessary amendments to legislation for the benefit of all Canadians through the enhancement and maintenance of transportation safety in Canada.

The program's effectiveness can be measured by its ability to provide the transportation community with the opportunity to have ministerial decisions reviewed fairly, equitably and within a reasonable period of time. Tribunal hearings are readily accessible to the lay person without the attendant legal complexities and case backlogs which were visited upon the court system that prevailed prior to the creation of this Tribunal and its predecessor, the Civil Aviation Tribunal.

Overall Departmental Performance

In conducting its reviews of enforcement and licensing decisions of the Minister of Transport, the Transportation Appeal Tribunal of Canada provides a public interest program that is unique to transportation in Canada. The Tribunal's efficiencies provide visible validation and confirmation of Canada's transportation safety system. Moreover, the Tribunal process is able to quickly identify concerns in the transportation sector of a technical or legislative nature leading to necessary amendments to legislation for the benefit of all Canadians through the enhancement and maintenance of transportation safety in Canada. For 2007-2008, the Tribunal worked on 258 actual cases with a planned spending of $1 433 000 and 12 FTEs. A breakdown of cases by category and region is provided in table 1 on page 11.

In the 12-month reporting period, the Transportation Appeal Tribunal of Canada registered 141 new requests for review and 9 requests for appeal from the transportation community. This represents an increase of 46 new cases registered over fiscal year 2006-2007. In addition to the new cases registered in this reporting period, 108 cases were carried over from the previous reporting period, bringing the total caseload to 258. This represents an increase of 47 cases over 2006-2007.

In the 2007-2008 reporting period, 125 cases were concluded without a hearing. The Tribunal heard 29 first level reviews and 8 second level appeals. This represents a decrease of 28 hearings over the previous fiscal year. Of the 37 cases that proceeded to a hearing, many cases had been postponed and rescheduled to a later date. At the end of 2007-2008, 81 cases were pending further action, 5 were still awaiting decisions and 10 had been scheduled for the 2008-2009 fiscal year.

Of the 125 cases that were concluded without a hearing, many were requests registered with the Tribunal and concluded shortly before the hearing was to take place, which means that all registry work that leads up to the hearing was completed. The registry prepared for 53 hearings. In many cases an agreement was reached between the parties. In other cases, Transport Canada or the document holder withdrew their application.

Table 1: Total Cases by Category

Category	Pacific	Prairie and Northern	Ontario	Quebec	Atlantic	HQ	Totals	%
Medicals	16	12	12	16	2	2	60	23
Suspensions	7	12	10	4	5	1	39	15
Fines	12	52	15	30	11	*7	127	49
Cancellations	2	1	0	5	0	0	8	3
Refusal to issue	6	5	5	3	1	1	21	9
Rail orders	0	0	0	1	1	1	3	1
Totals	43	82	42	59	20	12	258	100
%	17	32	16	23	8	4	100

*includes one case from the Canadian Transportation Agency.

Indicators in table 1 are actual numbers of cases. Total cases by category are not sufficient to determine all financial implications by simply forecasting the number of applications received by type of infraction and the manner in which they are resolved. However, an estimated cost average for review and appeal hearings for the past three fiscal years is presented in table 4 at page 16.

The program's effectiveness can be measured by the Tribunal's ability to provide the transportation community with the opportunity to have ministerial decisions reviewed fairly, equitably and within a reasonable period of time. Tribunal hearings are readily accessible to the lay person without the attendant legal complexities and case backlogs which were visited upon the court system that prevailed prior to the creation of this Tribunal and its predecessor, the Civil Aviation Tribunal.

The Tribunal strongly encourages its members to provide their determinations with written reasons promptly. This permits the parties to better understand the outcome of the matter and, where applicable, to make a more enlightened decision as to the exercise of their right of appeal. The average lapsed time between the conclusion of a review hearing and the issuance of a determination is 91 days. The average lapsed time between the conclusion of an appeal hearing and the issuance of a decision is 88 days. Given the increased complexity of the cases as well as the increase in number of counts contained in the notices, we are satisfied that the hearing process has been brought to a timely conclusion for both parties appearing before the Tribunal.

The Tribunal's mission is to do justice and be seen to do justice in all reviews and appeals and to resolve disputes according to the Transportation Appeal Tribunal of Canada Rules in all cases in a fair, independent and timely manner.

In 2007-2008, the Tribunal referred 6 cases back to the Minister. The Minister confirmed its original decision in one case, and we are awaiting the outcome in the 5 remaining decisions.

The success of the Tribunal over the past 22 years can be attributed to the importance placed on the training and development of its part-time members and staff. Over the past 12 months, the Tribunal has held a number of training sessions for the newly appointed members. The sessions were conducted in Ottawa. The new members represented both the marine and aviation sectors. The skilfully developed training programs and seminars are reflected in the quality of hearings held across the country and in the decisions rendered by Tribunal members.

Societal Indicators

The Transportation Appeal Tribunal of Canada represents the only forum for ensuring that document holders have access to an independent assessment governed by considerations of natural justice. Its role does not overlap with, nor is it duplicated by, any other agency, board or commission. It is unique in the transportation sector in that its function is entirely adjudicative. There are approximately 72 511 aviation personnel licences and permits and 34 150 rail personnel in Canada and approximately 31 886 private registered aircraft and 3 000 locomotives in service. Because of this volume, the number of infractions will rise. The level of enforcement action is entirely controlled by Transport Canada which in turn determines the workload of the Tribunal. The Tribunal is also affected by the Department's rewrite of its aviation, rail and marine regulations including the designation of a large number of offences under the designated provisions set out in the Canadian Aviation Regulations.

Government Priorities

The Transportation Appeal Tribunal of Canada reports to Parliament through the Minister of Transport. Its clients currently are the aviation, rail and marine communities and Transport Canada. The Tribunal serves the transportation public by contributing to a safe and efficient oversight process for transportation safety and security in Canada.

Modern Comptrollership

Building on the successes achieved from activities implemented under the Modern Comptrollership initiative, the Transportation Appeal Tribunal of Canada is continuing to move forward in the implementation of modern management practices which remains a key priority.

The Tribunal continues to work in partnership with three other small agencies, namely, the Registry of the Competition Tribunal, the Canadian Artists and Producers Professional Relations Tribunal and the Copyright Board of Canada, which formed a cluster group when the Modern Comptrollership Initiative was implemented in 2001-2002.

The cluster group focused on developing an action plan in response to a request from the Secretary of the Treasury Board for an integrated management framework. The Management Accountability Framework (MAF) sets out the Treasury Board's expectations for good public service management. It is structured around 10 key elements that collectively define “management”.

Initiative

The Tribunal organizes panel discussions and meetings with transportation community associations representing clients of the Tribunal to explain changes to rights, roles, responsibilities and obligations under the Transportation Appeal Tribunal of Canada Act, and to seek their point of view on the subject. The Tribunal also gives information sessions to law and aviation students.

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