OTTAWA, Ont. – Transport Minister David Collenette has released the final report of the Canada Transportation Act (CTA) Review Panel and the result are nearly 100 suggested changes.

“The panel has produced a far-reaching report – containing more than 90 recommendations – which will play a pivotal role in shaping the transportation policies of the future,” says Collenette.

The minister received the panel’s final report, entitled Vision and Balance, on June 28, and it was tabled in Parliament yesterday. The report’s recommendations focus on several areas, including competition, mergers, commercial operations, efficiency, infrastructure, urban rail corridors, sustainable development and e-business. The panel virtually dismisses one of Collenette’s pet-plans – a billion-dollar high-speed rail link in the Quebec-Windsor corridor. The panel’s most crucial recommendations, however related to roads and a commercial transport sector it says has suffered greatly from federal neglect. The panel’s road themes at first seem to reflect the conclusions of the 1992 Royal Commission, which were that Ottawa collects billions from fuel taxes, it pays next to nothing to road transport. In all, governments spent only $11.6-billion of the $14.3-billion collected from road-related taxes. n