Vol. 146, No. 1 — January 4, 2012

Registration

SI/2011-119 January 4, 2012

AN ACT TO AMEND THE CANADA TRANSPORTATION ACT AND THE RAILWAY SAFETY ACT AND TO MAKE CONSEQUENTIAL AMENDMENTS TO OTHER ACTS

Order Bringing into Force Sections 86.1 and 86.2 of the Canada Transportation Act, as enacted by section 27 of the Act

P.C. 2011-1679 December 15, 2011

His Excellency the Governor General in Council, on the recommendation of the Minister of Transport, pursuant to section 64 of An Act to amend the Canada Transportation Act and the Railway Safety Act and to make consequential amendments to other Acts (“the Act”), chapter 19 of the Statutes of Canada, 2007, hereby fixes the day on which this Order is made as the day on which sections 86.1 and 86.2 of the Canada Transportation Act, as enacted by section 27 of the Act, come into force.

EXPLANATORY NOTE

(This note is not part of the Order.)

Proposal

This Order would bring into force section 27 of An Act to amend the Canada Transportation Act and the Railway Safety Act and to make consequential amendments to other Acts (the Act), assented to on June 22, 2007. This would bring into force sections 86.1 and 86.2 of the Canada Transportation Act.

Objective

The result of bringing into force section 86.1 will require the Canadian Transportation Agency (the Agency) to make regulations requiring air carriers to include all fees, charges and taxes in their advertised prices. This would ensure greater transparency of advertised airfares by airlines and allow consumers to readily determine the cost of an air service.

Section 86.2 reintroduces a provision enabling the Agency to make regulations that may be conditional or unconditional, qualified or unqualified, and may be general or restricted to a specific area, person or thing or group or class of persons or things.

Background

With the exception of section 27, the Act was brought into force on June 22, 2007. As a result of the debate, the Senate Standing Committee on Transport and Communications added Clause 64 to the Bill, providing that the airfare advertising clause would come into force separately on a day fixed by order of the Governor in Council (GiC).

Section 27 of the Act contains a provision, section 86.1, that will require the Agency to make regulations requiring air carriers to include all fees, charges and taxes in their advertised prices.

The delay in coming into force of section 27 of the Act has also resulted in a regulatory power being dropped from the Canada Transportation Act. The former subsection 86(3) of the Canada Transportation Act was to be replaced by section 86.2, as found in section 27 of the Act. Section 86.2 is not directly related to the airfare advertising article, and was never intended to be made inoperative.

Implications

By bringing into force section 27, the Government would promote fair competition and enhance consumer protection by making the full costs of an airline ticket more transparent and clear in advertising.

This is in keeping with similar initiatives in major trading partners, notably the United States and the European Union.

Consultations

The Agency will carry out consultations with key air and travel industry stakeholders before commencing the process of drafting regulations requiring air carriers to include all fees, charges and taxes in their advertised prices. In addition, a consultation document will be made available to the general public on the Agency’s Web site with an invitation for comments.

The consultation process will begin as soon as possible after the bringing into force of section 27 and is expected to last approximately four months. Based on the outcome of this consultation process, the Agency will begin the process of creating drafting instructions. The development of the required regulations will follow the normal regulatory process, including pre-publication in the Canada Gazette, Part Ⅰ.

Departmental contacts

Brigita Gravitis-Beck
Director General
Air Policy
Transport Canada
Telephone: 613-993-0054
Fax: 613-991-6445
Email: brigita.gravitis-beck@tc.gc.ca

Colin Stacey
Director
National Air Services Policy
Transport Canada
Telephone: 613-993-4361
Fax: 613-991-6445
Email: colin.stacey@tc.gc.ca

Agency contact

Ghislain Blanchard
Director General
Industry Regulation and Determinations
Canadian Transportation Agency
Telephone: 819-953-4657
Fax: 819-994-8807
Email: ghislain.blanchard@otc-cta.gc.ca