Vol. 146, No. 3 — February 1, 2012
Registration
SOR/2012-3 January 20, 2012
AERONAUTICS ACT
Regulations Amending the Air Services Charges Regulations (Miscellaneous Program)
The Minister of Transport, pursuant to subsection 4.4(2) (see footnote a) of the Aeronautics Act (see footnote b) and section 2 of the Ministerial Regulations Authorization Order (see footnote c), hereby makes the annexed Regulations Amending the Air Services Charges Regulations (Miscellaneous Program).
Ottawa, January 19, 2012
DENIS LEBEL
Minister of Transport
REGULATIONS AMENDING THE AIR SERVICES CHARGES
REGULATIONS (MISCELLANEOUS PROGRAM)
AMENDMENTS
1. Parts 1, 9, 13, 16 and 20 of Schedule I to the Air Services Charges Regulations (see footnote 1) are repealed.
2. Parts 2, 10, 14 and 17 of Schedule IV to the Regulations are repealed.
3. Items 1, 9, 14, 17 and 21 of Schedule VI to the Regulations are repealed.
COMING INTO FORCE
4. These Regulations come into force on the day on which they are published in the Canada Gazette , Part Ⅱ.
REGULATORY IMPACT ANALYSIS STATEMENT
(This statement is not part of the Regulations.)
Issue and objectives
The Air Services Charges Regulations (the Regulations) regulate charges applicable to air service providers at airports owned and operated by Transport Canada. Charges that fall under these Regulations pertain to various charges such as landing charges, general terminal charges, aircraft parking charges, and charges for emergency response services (ERS) outside normal operating hours for ERS.
The Regulations include a schedule that lists all airports for which these Regulations apply. Therefore, the objective of this regulatory amendment is to ensure the accuracy of the list of airports in the schedule by removing airports that are no longer owned and operated by Transport Canada.
Description and rationale
In 1994, the Department of Transport released its National Airports Policy (NAP). Under the NAP, the Government maintained its role as regulator; however, it sought to divest the day-to-day operations of Canada’s air transportation system. The Government retained ownership of the country’s largest airports identified as part of the National Airports System (NAS); however, responsibility for the management, operation and development of the individual NAS airports was transferred to private, not-for-profit airport authorities. The Department proceeded to transfer the outright ownership and operation of regional/local airports, as well as other small airports, to local interests. Currently, Transport Canada owns 17 regional/local and remote airports, of which 7 are operated directly by the Department. Of these, 2 remote sites provide the only year-round means of transportation for the nearby communities, while the 5 regional/local airports play a role in the regional transportation system. These airports could not be divested prior to the end of the Airport Divestiture Program in 2007.
Ownership and operation of the Baie-Comeau, Mont-Joli and Saint-Hubert airports have been transferred to local interests. Responsibility for the operation of the Fredericton and Prince George airports was transferred to airport authorities. An update to the schedules of the Regulations is being made, which removes those airports that are no longer owned and operated by Transport Canada to which the Regulations no longer apply.
Specifically, in order to address these changes, the parts and items in Schedules I, IV and VI that relate to Baie-Comeau, Fredericton, Mont-Joli, Prince George and Saint-Hubert airports will be removed from the Regulations.
Consultation
Prior to the introduction of this amendment, Transport Canada shared its intention to address the concerns with its airport stakeholders and no objections were received. There was no consultation with the public. As this amendment is minor and corrective in nature, and is being made to ensure that the Regulations are accurate and consistent, the amendment is being published directly in the Canada Gazette, Part Ⅱ.
In accordance with the Cabinet Directive on the Environmental Assessment of Policy, Plan and Program Proposals, and the Transport Canada Policy Statement on Strategic Environmental Assessment, the Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA) process was followed for this and a preliminary scan was completed. The preliminary scan concluded that the proposal is not likely to have environmental effects.
Contact
For further information, please contact
Jay Rieger, Eng.
Project Manager
Bridge Policy and Programs
Airport and Port Programs Directorate
Transport Canada
112 Kent Street
Ottawa, Ontario
K1A 0N5
Telephone: 613-998-2695
Fax: 613-990-8889
Email: jay.rieger@tc.gc.ca
Footnote a
S.C. 2004, c. 15, s. 4
Footnote b
R.S., c. A-2
Footnote c
SOR/86-631
Footnote 1
SOR/85-414; SOR/91-85