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Released
September 12, 2000
The
Review Panel, constituted under Section 53 of the Canada Transportation
Act (CTA), has initiated its examination of the operation of the Act and
other legislation related to the economic regulation of modes of
transportation. As stipulated in Section 53 of the Act, the Panel will
assess whether the legislation provides an "efficient, effective,
flexible and affordable" transportation system for Canada and
Canadians. Both the operation of the legislation, and the policy
objectives on which it is based, are open to review. The attached Terms of
Reference outline the issues that the Panel was asked to address.
With a deadline of July 1,
2001, the Panel has less than a year to conduct the Review. In addition,
the Panel is required to submit an interim report on specific elements of
its mandate by December 31, 2000. In order to assess the challenges facing
the Canadian transportation industry and the adequacy of Canada’s
legislative and policy framework, the Panel seeks input from suppliers and
purchasers of transportation services, as well as other groups with an
interest in Canada’s transportation system. The Panel would like to
receive proposals on forward-looking changes and improvements to the Act
and related legislation.
Interested parties are
invited to submit their views and comments on issues pertaining to the
Panel’s mandate. Submissions may consist of brief statements and
comments or more elaborate analyses and reports. The Panel’s mandate
relates specifically to the federal policy and legislative framework
governing transportation in Canada. Specific disputes between parties are
outside the scope of the Review.
The Panel would like to
receive briefs as soon as possible. Submissions dealing with competitive
rail access issues and relating to the interim report should be sent by
October 6, 2000. Submissions that deal with other mandate issues should be
sent by November 17, 2000. Upon receiving your submission, staff from the
Review Panel Secretariat will contact the designated representative from
your organization.
While time constraints may
preclude the Panel from meeting with every interested party, the Panel
would like to provide the broadest possible spectrum of opportunities for
parties to raise their concerns and offer their perspectives on the issues
within the Panel’s mandate. The Panel will hold consultation meetings in
all provinces and territories. (A schedule of consultation locations will
be available shortly on our Web site.) The meetings may be used to meet
with parties whose written submissions have raised issues or concerns
requiring clarification and elaboration.
Submissions may
be sent via e-mail in any standard word-processing package. For
submissions sent via mail, we ask that an electronic version be included.
Submissions may be provided in either official language. If you require an
alternative format of this letter, please contact us at info@reviewcta-examenltc.gc.ca
or call (613) 993-4743. Submissions will normally be posted on the CTA
Review Web site, except for information that the stakeholder identifies as
being commercially sensitive.
Your input is invaluable to
this Review. We look forward to receiving your submission.
Sincerely,
Brian Flemming
Chairman
Canada Transportation Act Review Panel
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