Transportation Appeal Tribunal of Canada Act (S.C. 2001, c. 29)

Short Title

Marginal note:Short title

1 This Act may be cited as the Transportation Appeal Tribunal of Canada Act.

Transportation Appeal Tribunal of Canada

Marginal note:Establishment

• 2 (1) There is hereby established a tribunal to be known as the Transportation Appeal Tribunal of Canada (“the Tribunal”).

• Marginal note:Jurisdiction generally

  (2) The Tribunal has jurisdiction in respect of reviews and appeals as expressly provided for under the Aeronautics Act, the Pilotage Act, the Railway Safety Act, the Marine Transportation Security Act, the Canada Shipping Act, 2001, the Wrecked, Abandoned or Hazardous Vessels Act and any other federal Act regarding transportation.

• Marginal note:Jurisdiction in respect of other Acts

  (3) The Tribunal also has jurisdiction in respect of reviews and appeals in connection with administrative monetary penalties provided for under sections 177 to 181 of the Canada Transportation Act, sections 43 to 55 of the International Bridges and Tunnels Act, sections 129.01 to 129.19 of the Canada Marine Act, sections 16.1 to 16.25 of the Motor Vehicle Safety Act, sections 39.1 to 39.26 of the Canadian Navigable Waters Act and sections 130.01 to 130.19 of the Marine Liability Act.

Marginal note:Members

• 3 (1) The Governor in Council shall appoint as members of the Tribunal persons who, in the opinion of the Governor in Council, collectively have expertise in the transportation sectors in respect of which the federal government has jurisdiction.

• Marginal note:Full- or part-time members

  (2) Members may be appointed as full-time or part-time members.

Marginal note:Chairperson and Vice-Chairperson

4 The Governor in Council shall designate one member as Chairperson of the Tribunal and one member as Vice-Chairperson. The Chairperson and Vice-Chairperson must be full-time members.

Marginal note:Duties of Chairperson

• 5 (1) The Chairperson has supervision over, and direction of, the work of the Tribunal, including

  • (a) the apportionment of work among members and the assignment of members to hear matters brought before the Tribunal and, when the Tribunal sits in panels, the assignment of members to panels and to preside over panels; and

  • (b) generally, the conduct of the work of the Tribunal and the management of its internal affairs.

• Marginal note:Absence of Chairperson

  (2) In the event of the absence or incapacity of the Chairperson or if the office of Chairperson is vacant, the Vice-Chairperson shall act as Chairperson during the continuance of that absence or incapacity or until a new Chairperson is designated.

Marginal note:Term of office

• 6 (1) A member shall be appointed to hold office during good behaviour for a term not exceeding seven years and may be removed for cause by the Governor in Council.

• Marginal note:Reappointment

  (2) A member is eligible to be reappointed.

• Marginal note:Disposition after member ceases to hold office

  (3) At the request of the Chairperson, a former member, within eight weeks after ceasing to be a member, may make or take part in a determination or decision on a matter that they heard as a member. For that purpose, the former member is deemed to be a member.

Marginal note:Remuneration

• 7 (1) Members shall receive the remuneration that is fixed by the Governor in Council.

• Marginal note:Expenses

  (2) Each member is entitled to be paid reasonable travel and living expenses incurred while absent in the course of their duties from, in the case of a full-time member, their ordinary place of work and, in the case of a part-time member, their ordinary place of residence.

• Marginal note:Status

  (3) Members are deemed to be employed in the federal public administration for the purposes of the Government Employees Compensation Act and any regulations made under section 9 of the Aeronautics Act.

Marginal note:Inconsistent interests — full-time members

• 8 (1) Full-time members shall not accept or hold any office, membership, employment or interest, or engage in any business activity, that is inconsistent with the proper performance of their duties and functions.

• Marginal note:Divesting of interests

  (2) If an interest that is prohibited under subsection (1) vests, by whatever means, in a full-time member, the member shall disclose the interest to the Chairperson without delay and, within three months after the interest vests, either divest himself or herself of the interest or resign as a member.

• Marginal note:Duties of full-time members

  (3) Full-time members shall devote the whole of their time to the performance of their duties and functions under this Act.

• Marginal note:Inconsistent interests — part-time members

  (4) If a part-time member who is assigned to hear or is hearing any matter before the Tribunal, either alone or as a member of a panel, holds any pecuniary or other interest that could be inconsistent with the proper performance of their duties and functions in relation to the matter, the member shall disclose the interest to the Chairperson without delay and is ineligible to hear, or to continue to hear, the matter.

Marginal note:Principal office

9 The principal office of the Tribunal shall be in the National Capital Region described in the schedule to the National Capital Act.

10 [Repealed, 2014, c. 20, s. 465]

Marginal note:Sittings

11 The Tribunal shall sit at those times and places in Canada that the Chairperson considers necessary for the proper performance of its functions.

Marginal note:Hearings on review

12 A review shall be heard by a member, sitting alone, who has expertise in the transportation sector to which the review relates. However, a review that concerns a matter of a medical nature shall be heard by a member with medical expertise, whether or not that member has expertise in the transportation sector to which the review relates.

Marginal note:Hearings on appeal

• 13 (1) Subject to subsection (2), an appeal to the Tribunal shall be heard by an appeal panel consisting of three members.

• Marginal note:Size of panel

  (2) The Chairperson may, if he or she considers it appropriate, direct that an appeal be heard by an appeal panel consisting of more than three members or, with the consent of the parties to the appeal, of one member.

• Marginal note:Composition of panel

  (3) A member who conducts a review may not sit on an appeal panel that is established to hear an appeal from his or her determination.

• Marginal note:Qualifications of members

  (4) With the exception of the Chairperson and Vice-Chairperson, who may sit on any appeal panel, an appeal shall be heard by an appeal panel consisting of members who have expertise in the transportation sector to which the appeal relates.

• Marginal note:Medical matters

  (5) Despite subsection (4), in an appeal that concerns a matter of a medical nature, at least one member of the appeal panel shall have medical expertise, whether or not that member has expertise in the transportation sector to which the appeal relates.

• Marginal note:Decision of panel

  (6) A decision of a majority of the members of an appeal panel is a decision of the panel.

Marginal note:Nature of appeal

14 An appeal shall be on the merits based on the record of the proceedings before the member from whose determination the appeal is taken, but the appeal panel shall allow oral argument and, if it considers it necessary for the purposes of the appeal, shall hear evidence not previously available.

Marginal note:Nature of hearings

• 15 (1) Subject to subsection (2), the Tribunal is not bound by any legal or technical rules of evidence in conducting any matter that comes before it, and all such matters shall be dealt with by it as informally and expeditiously as the circumstances and considerations of fairness and natural justice permit.

• Marginal note:Restriction

  (2) The Tribunal shall not receive or accept as evidence anything that would be inadmissible in a court by reason of any privilege under the law of evidence.

• Marginal note:Appearance

  (3) A party to a proceeding before the Tribunal may appear in person or be represented by another person, including legal counsel.

• Marginal note:Private hearings

  (4) Hearings shall be held in public. However, the Tribunal may hold all or any part of a hearing in private if it is of the opinion that

  • (a) a public hearing would not be in the public interest;

  • (b) medical information about a person may be disclosed and the desirability of ensuring that, in the interests of that person, the information is not publicly disclosed outweighs the desirability of adhering to the principle that hearings be open to the public; or

  • (c) confidential business information may be disclosed and the desirability of ensuring that the information is not publicly disclosed outweighs the desirability of adhering to the principle that hearings be open to the public.

• Marginal note:Standard of proof

  (5) In any proceeding before the Tribunal, a party that has the burden of proof discharges it by proof on the balance of probabilities.

Marginal note:Powers of Tribunal

16 The Tribunal, and each of its members, has all the powers of a commissioner under Part I of the Inquiries Act.

Marginal note:Reasons

17 A member who conducts a review shall provide a determination, and an appeal panel shall provide a decision, with reasons, in writing to all parties to a proceeding.

Marginal note:Rules of Tribunal

18 The Tribunal may, with the approval of the Governor in Council, make rules that are not inconsistent with this Act or any Act referred to in section 2 to govern the management of its affairs and the practice and procedure in connection with matters brought before it.

Marginal note:Costs

• 19 (1) The Tribunal may award any costs, and may require the reimbursement of any expenses incurred in connection with a hearing, that it considers reasonable if

  • (a) it is seized of the matter for reasons that are frivolous or vexatious;

  • (b) a party that files a request for a review or an appeal and does not appear at the hearing does not establish that there was sufficient reason to justify their absence; or

  • (c) a party that is granted an adjournment of the hearing requested the adjournment without adequate notice to the Tribunal.

• Marginal note:Recovery

  (2) Costs awarded to the Minister of Transport, and expenses of that Minister or the Tribunal that are subject to reimbursement, under subsection (1) are a debt due to Her Majesty in right of Canada.

• Marginal note:Certificate

  (3) Costs or expenses under subsection (1) that have not been paid may be certified by the Tribunal.

• Marginal note:Registration of certificate

  (4) On production to the Federal Court, a certificate shall be registered. When it is registered, a certificate has the same force and effect as if it were a judgment obtained in the Federal Court for a debt of the amount specified in it and all reasonable costs and charges attendant on its registration, recoverable in that Court or in any other court of competent jurisdiction.