An Act to amend the Canada Transportation Act and the Railway Safety Act and to make consequential amendments to other Acts (S.C. 2007, c. 19)
Full Document:
Assented to 2007-06-22
34. (1) Subsection 108(2) of the Act is repealed.
(2) Subsection 108(5) of the Act is repealed.
Marginal note:2000, c. 16, s. 5(2)
35. Subsection 141(3) of the Act is replaced by the following:
Marginal note:Notification of changes
(2.1) Whenever the railway company makes a change to the plan, it shall notify the following of the change within 10 days after the change:
(a) the Minister;
(b) the Agency;
(c) the minister responsible for transportation matters in the government of each province through which the railway line passes;
(d) the chairperson of every urban transit authority through whose territory the railway line passes; and
(e) the clerk or other senior administrative officer of every municipal or district government through which the railway line passes.
Marginal note:When sale, etc., permitted
(3) Subject to section 144.1, a railway company may sell, lease or otherwise transfer its railway lines, or its operating interest in its lines, for continued operation.
36. Subsections 143(3) and (4) of the Act are replaced by the following:
Marginal note:Disclosure of agreement with public passenger service provider
(3) The advertisement must also disclose the existence of any agreement between the railway company and a public passenger service provider in respect of the operation of a passenger rail service on the railway line.
37. Subsection 144(2) of the Act is repealed.
38. The Act is amended by adding the following after section 144:
Marginal note:Rights and obligations under passenger service agreements continued
144.1 (1) If a railway line, or a railway company’s operating interest in a railway line, is sold, leased or otherwise transferred under subsection 141(3) or as the result of an advertisement under subsection 143(1) and, before the day such advertisement was made, an agreement was in force between the railway company and a public passenger service provider in respect of the operation of a passenger rail service on the railway line, the rights and obligations of the railway company under the agreement in respect of the operation of that service on that line vest, as of the day the transfer takes place, in the person or entity to which the railway line, or the operating interest, is transferred, unless the public passenger service provider indicates otherwise before that day.
Marginal note:Declaration that line is for general advantage of Canada
(2) Whenever a railway company’s rights and obligations under an agreement with VIA Rail Canada Inc. are vested in another person or entity by subsection (1), the portion of the railway line to which the agreement relates is hereby declared, as of the day the transfer takes place, to be a work for the general advantage of Canada.
Marginal note:Duration of declaration
(3) The declaration referred to in subsection (2) ceases to have effect if
(a) VIA Rail Canada Inc. ceases to operate a passenger rail service on the portion of railway line to which the declaration relates; or
(b) the operation of the railway line is discontinued.
39. (1) The portion of subsection 145(1) of the Act before paragraph (a) is replaced by the following:
Marginal note:Offer to governments
145. (1) The railway company shall offer to transfer all of its interest in the railway line to the governments and urban transit authorities mentioned in this section for not more than its net salvage value to be used for any purpose if
(2) Subsection 145(2) of the Act is replaced by the following:
Marginal note:Which governments receive offer
(2) After the requirement to make the offer arises, the railway company shall send it simultaneously
(a) to the Minister if the railway line passes through
(i) more than one province or outside Canada,
(ii) land that is or was a reserve, as defined in subsection 2(1) of the Indian Act,
(iii) land that is the subject of an agreement entered into by the railway company and the Minister for the settlement of aboriginal land claims, or
(iv) a metropolitan area;
(b) to the minister responsible for transportation matters in the government of each province through which the railway line passes;
(c) to the chairperson of every urban transit authority through whose territory the railway line passes; and
(d) to the clerk or other senior administrative officer of every municipal or district government through whose territory the railway line passes.
(3) The portion of subsection 145(3) of the Act before paragraph (a) is replaced by the following:
Marginal note:Time limits for acceptance
(3) Subject to subsection 146.3(3), after the offer is received
(4) Subsection 145(3) of the Act is amended by striking out the word “and” at the end of paragraph (b) and by replacing paragraph (c) with the following:
(b.1) by an urban transit authority, it may accept it within an additional 30 days after the end of the period or periods for acceptance under paragraphs (a) and (b), if it is not accepted under those paragraphs; and
(c) by a municipal or district government, it may accept it within an additional 30 days after the end of the period or periods for acceptance under paragraphs (a), (b) and (b.1), if it is not accepted under those paragraphs.
(5) Subsections 145(4) and (5) of the Act are replaced by the following:
Marginal note:Communication and notice of acceptance
(4) Once a government or an urban transit authority communicates its written acceptance of the offer to the railway company, the right of any other government or urban transit authority to accept the offer is extinguished, and the railway company must notify the other governments and urban transit authorities of the acceptance.
Marginal note:Net salvage value
(5) If a government or an urban transit authority accepts the offer, but cannot agree with the railway company on the net salvage value within 90 days after the acceptance, the Agency may, on the application of the government or urban transit authority or the railway company, determine the net salvage value.
40. Section 146 of the Act is replaced by the following:
Marginal note:Discontinuation
146. (1) If a railway company has complied with the process set out in sections 143 to 145, but an agreement for the sale, lease or other transfer of the railway line or an interest in it is not entered into through that process, the railway company may discontinue operating the line on providing notice of the discontinuance to the Agency. After providing the notice, the railway company has no obligations under this Act in respect of the operation of the railway line and has no obligations with respect to any operations by any public passenger service provider over the railway line.
Marginal note:No obligation
(2) If the railway line, or any interest of the railway company in it, is sold, leased or otherwise transferred by an agreement entered into through the process set out in sections 143 to 145 or otherwise, the railway company that conveyed the railway line has no obligations under this Act in respect of the operation of the railway line as and from the date the sale, lease or other transfer was completed and has no obligations with respect to any operations by any public passenger service provider over the railway line as and from that date.
Marginal note:2000, c. 16, s. 8
41. Section 146.1 of the French version of the Act is replaced by the following:
Marginal note:Indemnisation
146.1 La compagnie de chemin de fer qui cesse d’exploiter un embranchement tributaire du transport du grain mentionné à l’annexe I, ou une partie d’un tel embranchement, passant dans une municipalité fait à celle-ci trois versements annuels à compter de la date où elle avise l’Office en application du paragraphe 146(1). Chaque versement est égal au produit de 10 000 $ et du nombre de milles de l’embranchement ou de la partie d’embranchement situés dans le territoire de la municipalité.
42. The Act is amended by adding the following after section 146.1:
Marginal note:List of metropolitan sidings and spurs to be dismantled
146.2 (1) A railway company shall prepare and keep up to date a list of its sidings and spurs that it plans to dismantle and that are located in metropolitan areas or within the territory served by any urban transit authority, except for sidings and spurs located on a railway right-of-way that will continue to be used for railway operations subsequent to their dismantlement.
Marginal note:Publication of list and notification of changes
(2) The railway company shall publish the list on its Internet site and, whenever it makes a change to the list, it shall notify the following of the change within 10 days after the change:
(a) the Minister;
(b) the Agency;
(c) the minister responsible for transportation matters in the government of the province in which the siding or spur that is the subject of the change is located;
(d) the chairperson of the urban transit authority in whose territory the siding or spur that is the subject of the change is located; and
(e) the clerk or other senior administrative officer of the municipal or district government in which the siding or spur that is the subject of the change is located.
Marginal note:Limitation
(3) A railway company shall not take steps to dismantle a siding or a spur until at least 12 months have elapsed since the siding or spur was added to the list.
Marginal note:Offer to governments
(4) Before dismantling a siding or a spur that has been on the list for at least 12 months, a railway company shall send simultaneously to each of the following an offer to transfer all of its interest in the siding or spur for not more than its net salvage value:
(a) the Minister;
(b) the minister responsible for transportation matters in the government of the province in which the siding or spur is located;
(c) the chairperson of the urban transit authority in whose territory the siding or spur is located; and
(d) the clerk or other senior administrative officer of the municipal or district government in which the siding or spur is located.
Marginal note:Time limits for acceptance
(5) Subject to subsection 146.3(3), after the offer is received
(a) by the Minister, the Government of Canada may accept it within 30 days;
(b) by the provincial minister, the government of the province may accept it within an additional 30 days after the end of the period mentioned in paragraph (a) if it is not accepted under that paragraph;
(c) by the chairperson of an urban transit authority, that authority may accept it within an additional 30 days after the end of the periods for acceptance under paragraphs (a) and (b), if it is not accepted under those paragraphs; and
(d) by the clerk or other senior administrative officer of a municipal or district government, that government may accept it within an additional 30 days after the end of the periods for acceptance under paragraphs (a), (b) and (c), if it is not accepted under those paragraphs.
Marginal note:Communication and notice of acceptance
(6) Once a government or an urban transit authority communicates its written acceptance of the offer to the railway company, the right of any other government or urban transit authority to accept the offer is extinguished, and the railway company shall notify the other governments and urban transit authorities of the acceptance.
Marginal note:Net salvage value
(7) If a government or an urban transit authority accepts the offer, but cannot agree with the railway company on the net salvage value within 90 days after the acceptance, the Agency may, on the application of the government, the urban transit authority or the railway company, determine the net salvage value.
Marginal note:Dismantling permitted
(8) If the offer is not accepted, the railway company may dismantle the siding or spur on providing notice to the Agency.
Marginal note:Determination of net salvage value before expiry of time to accept offer
146.3 (1) A person to whom a railway line is offered under section 145, or to whom a siding or spur is offered under section 146.2, may apply to the Agency for a determination of the net salvage value of the railway line, siding or spur, as the case may be, at any time before the expiry of the period available to the person to accept the offer.
Marginal note:Notification of application
(2) The applicant shall without delay provide a copy of the application to the railway company, and the railway company shall without delay notify every other person to whom the offer was made and whose time to accept the offer has not expired that an application for a determination of the net salvage value was made.
Marginal note:Effect of application
(3) If an application is made under subsection (1), the time available to the applicant to accept the offer expires on the day that is 30 days after the day the Agency notifies the applicant of its determination of the net salvage value and the 30-day period for each other person to accept the offer is calculated on the expiry of the period available to the applicant to accept the offer.
Marginal note:Costs
(4) The applicant shall reimburse the Agency’s costs associated with the application.
Marginal note:Railway rights of way
146.4 Sections 146.2 and 146.3 apply, with any modifications that are necessary, to railway rights-of-way, that are located in metropolitan areas or within the territory served by any urban transit authority and in respect of which the sidings and spurs have been dismantled, that a railway company plans to sell, lease or otherwise transfer.
Marginal note:Passenger railway stations
146.5 Sections 146.2 and 146.3 apply, with any modifications that are necessary, to passenger railway stations in Canada that a railway company plans to sell, lease or otherwise transfer or dismantle.
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