Accessible Transportation for Persons with Disabilities Regulations (SOR/2019-244)

Interpretation

Marginal note:Definitions

• 1 (1) The following definitions apply in these Regulations.

  Act

  Act means the Canada Transportation Act. (Loi)

  assistive device

  assistive device means any medical device, mobility aid, communication aid or other aid that is specially designed to assist a person with a disability with a need related to their disability. (dispositif d’assistance)

  barrier

  barrier[Repealed, SOR/2019-244, s. 238]

  CATSA

  CATSA means the Canadian Air Transport Security Authority established under subsection 5(1) of the Canadian Air Transport Security Authority Act. (ACSTA)

  CBSA

  CBSA means the Canada Border Services Agency established under subsection 3(1) of the Canada Border Services Agency Act. (ASFC)

  CSA B651-18

  CSA B651-18 means the National Standard of Canada CAN/CSA B651-18, entitled Accessible design for the built environment, published in November 2018 by the Canadian Standards Association, as amended from time to time. (norme CAN/CSA B651-18)

  curbside zone

  curbside zone means an area that is located outside of a terminal where passengers are picked up or dropped off and that is owned, operated, leased or otherwise controlled by the terminal operator. (aire d’arrêt minute)

  disability

  disability[Repealed, SOR/2019-244, s. 238]

  ferry

  ferry means a vessel that is used for the transportation of passengers and that operates on a fixed schedule between two or more points. (traversier)

  mobility aid

  mobility aid means any manual or electric wheelchair, scooter, boarding chair, walker, cane, crutch, prosthesis or other aid that is specially designed to assist a person with a disability with a need related to mobility. (aide à la mobilité)

  personnel

  personnel, in respect of a carrier, a terminal operator, CATSA or the CBSA, means

  • (a) any employees of that carrier or terminal operator or of CATSA or the CBSA, as the case may be;

  • (b) any persons, except a travel agency, that have entered into an agreement or arrangement with that carrier or terminal operator or with CATSA or the CBSA, as the case may be, to provide services on their behalf; and

  • (c) any employees of the persons referred to in paragraph (b). (personnel)

  service dog

  service dog means a dog that has been individually trained by an organization or person specializing in service dog training to perform a task to assist a person with a disability with a need related to their disability. (chien d’assistance)

  support person

  support person means a person referred to in subsection 50(1) whose assistance is needed by a person with a disability. (personne de soutien)

  terminal

  terminal means an airport, a railway station, a ferry terminal or a bus station, or a port that permits the mooring of cruise ships, and any related facilities, whether inside or outside of the terminal, including any amenities or equipment used in a terminal or in its related facilities, such as washrooms, waiting or rest areas, boarding platforms, curbside zones and parking. (gare)

  terminal operator

  terminal operator means a person that owns, operates or leases a terminal. (exploitant de gare)

  transportation-related service or facility

  transportation-related service or facility means any service or facility, including any amenity or equipment used in a facility, that is related to the transportation of passengers within the transportation network. (service ou installation liés au transport)

  Web Content Accessibility Guidelines

  Web Content Accessibility Guidelines means the World Wide Web Consortium Recommendation, dated December 2008, entitled Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.0, published by the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C), as amended from time to time. (Règles pour l’accessibilité des contenus Web)

• Marginal note:Interpretation of document incorporated by reference

  (2) In these Regulations, if a document that is available in both official languages is incorporated by reference as amended from time to time, any amendment to that document is incorporated only when the amendment is available in both official languages.

• (3) [Repealed, SOR/2019-244, s. 238]

Marginal note:Interpretation — no effect on existing legal obligations

2 For greater certainty, nothing in these Regulations is to be construed as

• (a) limiting the duty to accommodate under the Canadian Human Rights Act or any other Act of Parliament; or

• (b) requiring any person to do anything that jeopardizes security, public health or public safety.

Marginal note:Interpretation — treatment with dignity

2.1 These Regulations are to be interpreted as requiring that persons with disabilities be treated with dignity.

PART 1Requirements Applicable to Transportation Service Providers

Application

Marginal note:Carriers, terminal operators, CATSA and CBSA

• 3 (1) This Part applies to the following entities (each of which is referred to in this Part as a “transportation service provider”):

  • (a) every carrier to which Part 3 applies;

  • (b) every terminal operator to which Division 1 of Part 4 applies;

  • (c) CATSA; and

  • (d) the CBSA.

• Marginal note:Application of paragraph 5(a)

  (2) Paragraph 5(a) applies to every carrier to which Part 2 applies and every terminal operator to which Division 2 of Part 4 applies, in addition to the entities mentioned in paragraphs (1)(a) to (d).

Communication of Information to Persons with Disabilities

Marginal note:General information — alternative formats

• 4 (1) If a transportation service provider makes available to the public information about any transportation-related service or facility, the transportation service provider must ensure that

  • (a) if the information is made available in an electronic format, the format is compatible with adaptive technology that is intended to assist persons with disabilities;

  • (b) if the information is made available only in a paper format, it is made available, on request, in large print, in Braille or in an electronic format;

  • (c) if the information is made available in an audio format, it is made available, on request, in a visual format; and

  • (d) if the information is made available in a visual format, it is made available, on request, in an audio format.

• Marginal note:Timing

  (2) If a person with a disability makes a request referred to in any of paragraphs (1)(b) to (d), the transportation service provider must provide the information in the requested format without delay.

Marginal note:Information to be published

• 5 (1) A transportation service provider must publish the following information in electronic format on its website, or in another format if it does not have a website:

  • (a) a notice that it is subject to these Regulations and the provisions of these Regulations that apply to it;

  • (b) the services that it offers to persons with disabilities and any conditions that apply to those services; and

  • (c) the complaint resolution services that it offers and how a passenger may access those services.

• Marginal note:Clarification

  (2) For greater certainty, the requirements of section 4 apply to a notice referred to in paragraph (1)(a) and complaint resolution services referred to in paragraph (1)(c).

Marginal note:Communication

6 A transportation service provider must ensure that members of personnel who interact with passengers in the course of carrying out their functions take in account the following when communicating with a person with a disability:

• (a) the nature of the person’s disability, particularly if the person is blind or deaf or has any other visual or hearing impairment or if the person has a communication impairment;

• (b) whether the person uses an assistive device to assist them to hear, see or communicate; and

• (c) whether there are methods of communication that may be used by the person or that may facilitate communication with the person, such as an augmentative or alternative communication system, sign language or clear, concise and plain language.

Marginal note:Telephone system

7 If a transportation service provider makes a telephone number available to the public that may be used to make travel reservations or obtain information about the provider’s transportation-related services or facilities, it must

• (a) offer to persons who are deaf or have any other hearing impairment, or who have a communication impairment, the option of doing those things by means of an email or a third party’s telephone relay or video relay service; and

• (b) publish, in every instance that it publishes a telephone number that may be used to do those things, along with that telephone number, a description of how a person may access the services referred to in paragraph (a), including the transportation service provider’s email address and the third party’s telephone number for telephone relay or video relay service.

Marginal note:Website

8 If a transportation service provider makes a website available to the public that may be used to access a client account, travel itinerary, travel schedule or trip status, to obtain contact information for the transportation service provider, to make or modify a reservation or to check in, it must

• (a) offer to persons with disabilities the option of doing those things by means of a communication system that does not require the use of a website, such as by means of a telephone, an email or a third party’s telephone relay or video relay service; and

• (b) publish, in every instance that it publishes the address of the website that may be used to do those things, along with that website address, a description of how a person may access the services referred to in paragraph (a), including the transportation service provider’s telephone number and email address and the third party’s telephone number for telephone relay or video relay service.

Marginal note:Website — requirements

9 A transportation service provider must ensure that every website, mobile website and application that it owns, operates or controls and that is made available to the public meets the requirements for a Level AA conformance that are set out in the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines.

Marginal note:Public announcements inside terminals

• 10 (1) A carrier must ensure that any public announcement relating to a departure or a gate or track assignment that is made for passengers waiting at a boarding area inside a terminal is made in an audio format and in a visual format.

• Marginal note:Public announcement — safety or security

  (2) If a transportation service provider makes any public announcement relating to safety or security inside a terminal, they must make that announcement in an audio and visual format.