Canadian Transportation Agency

The Canadian Transportation Agency (CTA; French: Office des transports du Canada) is an independent administrative tribunal of the Government of Canada that makes decisions relating to federally regulated modes of transportation (air, rail and marine). Its headquarters are in the Jules Léger Building (South) (Édifice Jules Léger (Sud)) in Terrasses de la Chaudière, Gatineau, Quebec.[2]

Not to be confused with Transport Canada.
Canadian Transportation Agency
Office des transports du Canada

Headquarters in the Jules Léger Building in Terrasses de la Chaudière
Agency overview
JurisdictionGovernment of Canada
HeadquartersGatineau, Quebec, Canada
Agency executive
  • Scott Streiner[1]
Websitewww.otc-cta.gc.ca

It is responsible for:

  • Dispute resolution: to resolve complaints about transportation services, fares, rates, and charges;
  • Accessibility: to ensure that the national transportation system is accessible, particularly to persons with disabilities; and
  • Economic regulation: to provide approvals and licences and to make decisions on matters involving federally regulated air, rail, and marine transportation.

The agency is divided into five branches: Chair's Office; Corporate Management Branch; Legal and Alternative Dispute Resolution Services Branch; Dispute Resolution Branch; Industry Regulation and Determinations Branch.

The agency is headed by five full-time members, including the chairman and chief executive officer, and the vice chairman.

History

Consumer responsibilities were expanded in 2000, when an Air Travel Complaints Commissioner was created under its stewardship. The first Air Travel Complaints Commissioner was Bruce Hood, a former veteran National Hockey League referee.

In 2020 the agency received 8000 complaints between March and September over airline policies to issue travel vouchers rather than refunds for passengers cancelling their flight bookings during the COVID-19 pandemic.[3] The CTA posted on their website that airlines could issue travel vouchers instead of refunds, which caused Air Passenger Rights, an advocacy association, to file a lawsuit for CTA to remove this statement.[4]

Legislation

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:

Certificate of Fitness

The CTA is responsible for the issuance of a Certificate of Fitness for each federal railway.[5] A board is required to evaluate details like insurance coverage, without which the railway cannot maintain its Certificate of Fitness.

References
  1. Owram, Kristine (May 24, 2016). "Canadian Transportation Agency wants you to know it exists, looks to be more consumer focused". Financial Post.
  2. "Phone, email and mailing address | Canadian Transportation Agency". otc-cta.gc.ca. Archived from the original on May 23, 2018. Retrieved May 23, 2018.
  3. Canadian Press (September 1, 2020). "Few people are flying during COVID-19 but that hasn't stopped complaints about airlines from soaring". CBC. Retrieved December 19, 2020.
  4. Ghobrial, Adrian; Teneriello, Tina. "The fight to get refunds from Canadian airlines during the coronavirus pandemic". CityNews. Retrieved 2020-12-20.
  5. "Rail certificates of fitness (licences)". otc-cta.gc.ca. Retrieved May 23, 2018.


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