OTTAWA, (Mar. 24, 2005) — The Canadian Transport Minister today tabled amendments to the Canada Transportation Act that affect mainly rail and air transportation, but also various trucking operations.

Transport Minister Jean-C. Lapierre proposed the amendments, which focus on concerns by consumers and shippers, while also addressing the governance regimes for international bridges and tunnels — including involvement in the new crossing being proposed for the Windsor, Ont.-Detroit border. The legislation will also take into account the public interest regarding blockbuster acquisitions and mergers in all transport sectors.

Some of the amendments include:

— New provisions addressing the approval and regulation of international bridges and tunnels: The proposed amendments give the Government of Canada the legislative authority required to provide oversight of the 24 international bridges and tunnels between the U.S. and Canada to “ensure that the interests of Canadians are protected.”

The amendments also provide Transport Canada with the authority to approve the construction or alteration of international bridges and tunnels, and to develop regulations pertaining to the governance, maintenance, security and operation of these structures.

“Basically, the intent gives an overall governance regime to bridge’s and tunnels,” Brian McGregor, Transport Canada communications director, told TodaysTrucking.com this afternoon. “As it stands now some are provincially owned and regulated, some are federally regulated, and (some) are privately operated. The idea is to give a comprehensive federal regulatory role with respect to (international) bridges.

McGregor acknowledged some of the issues concerning the privately-owned and operated Ambassador Bridge, which links Windsor and Detroit, adding that the amendments would give Transport Canada a stake in the new crossing being proposed for the trade corridor.

“There’s been a lot of talk, for example, of the new bridge in the Windsor area,” he said. “This would give us a bigger role in selecting the location, insuring the environmental assessments are done properly, the requirement of proper security provisions be in place, and so on.”

— A public interest review process for mergers and acquisitions of all
federally regulated transportation services: Currently, the Canada Transportation Act provisions to review mergers and acquisitions apply only to the airline industry. The amendments would expand the scope of revisions to include all transportation undertakings of significant size under federal jurisdiction — meaning that the Minister of Transport would have the ability to review public interest issues arising from merger or acquisition proposals, as they related to national transportation.

While the language of the bill is vague enough to all types of federally regulated carriers, McGregor says the legislation would likely not affect trucking deals since the monetary threshold for government review would only include acquisitions with more than $400 million in assets involved. “So, we’re talking big, big deals,” McGregor said, adding that kind of money would realistically only encompass large mergers in the rail and air industries.

— A new, modernized and simplified National Transportation Policy Statement. “This new statement outlines policy principles in a simpler and clearer manner. In particular, it reaffirms established principles and embraces new ones, such as security and the protection of the environment,” the government said.

— The addition of security to the list of purposes for which transportation data, identification from transportation-related parties and stakeholders could be collected. Under the proposed legislative changes, administrative penalties would be enforced if reporting requirements are not met.

— Improvements and expansion to the recourses available to rail
shippers, while maintaining the existing running rights provisions: The amendments drop the requirement for the Canadian Transportation Agency to be satisfied that a shipper would suffer substantial commercial harm before it grants a remedy, as it is an unwarranted barrier to regulatory remedies.

They also clarify the agency’s authority to prescribe maximum inter-switching rates, which would allow shippers and railways to negotiate lower rates. The obligation of a shipper to have an agreement with a connecting carrier before requesting a regulated rate from the agency would be dropped. The option of final offer arbitration would be extended to groups of shippers seeking a common solution to rates and conditions.

— Responding to public complaints of rail noise in residential areas, the government is also looking to authorize the Canadian Transportation Agency to review noise complaints and, if required, order rail companies to make changes to reduce unreasonable noise when constructing or operating a railway or rail yard.