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Message from the Chair and Chief Executive Officer

The Canadian Transportation Agency's 2008–2009 Departmental Performance Report summarizes the measures taken by the organization to remain one of the country's leading tribunals through strong leadership, clear vision and dedication to excellence. In doing so, the Agency contributes to making Canada's federally-regulated transportation system efficient and accessible for all.

The past 12 months saw the Agency make significant progress on a number of its priorities, which were outlined in its three-year Strategic Plan released in the spring of 2008. A major corporate achievement in the key area of dispute resolution was the successful elimination of a significant backlog of cases to be adjudicated. Alternative dispute resolution mechanisms, including facilitation and mediation, were also given greater prominence this year.

The critical objective of retaining and attracting the people the Agency needs to deliver on its mandate has been supported by succession planning, employee learning and training and anticipatory staffing initiatives. In 2008–2009, Agency staff began working under a new, modernized organizational structure, and also undertook the pursuit of ambitious performance targets that were implemented during the course of the year. As noted in this Report, the Agency is well on its way to meeting its targets. In future years, the performance data will be complemented by the results of a comprehensive client satisfaction survey framework to be rolled out in 2009, and that will pave the way for even more service delivery improvements.

With respect to accessibility to transportation for persons with disabilities, the Agency pursued its national leadership role by publishing the Take Charge of Your Travel guide. It also monitored the implementation of one-person-one-fare policies by Air Canada and WestJet to comply with a 2008 Agency decision in favour of persons with severe disabilities who require more than one seat on an aircraft. As well, the Agency issued a final decision on 26 complaints regarding the mobility of persons who need medical oxygen when travelling by air.

Among its many other rulings, the Agency found that both the Canadian National Railway Company and the Canadian Pacific Railway had exceeded their revenue caps for the movement of Western grain in 2007–2008, following a one-time adjustment to the caps to reflect lower maintenance costs for hopper cars.

The Agency also worked on strengthening its relationships with those outside the organization by communicating more effectively and clearly through various avenues. Most significantly, a fully redesigned corporate Web site that complies with the Government of Canada's new Common Look and Feel 2.0 requirements was launched in January.

With more than a century of expertise, the Canadian Transportation Agency provides the federal transportation system with regulatory stability and leadership. The Agency's established and proven processes are constantly being improved to achieve an even higher level of excellence, notably through the revamping of Regulations, Codes of Practice and Guidelines. In doing so, the Agency makes the best possible use of the human and financial resources entrusted to it, and is an enthusiastic participant in the renewal of Canada's public service and efforts to make government more efficient and responsive.

Geoffrey C. Hare
Chair and Chief Executive Officer

Section I: Overview

1.1 Summary Information

Reason for Existence

The Canadian Transportation Agency is an independent administrative tribunal of the Government of Canada. It is responsible for:

• Dispute Resolution, to resolve complaints about transportation services, rates, fees, charges and other matters;
• Accessibility, to ensure that the national transportation system is accessible, particularly to persons with disabilities; and
• Economic Regulation, to provide approvals and licences, and make decisions on matters involving federally regulated air, rail and marine transportation.

Our Mandate

To administer the economic regulatory provisions of Acts of Parliament affecting all modes of transport under federal jurisdiction.

Our Mission

To assist in achieving a competitive, efficient and accessible transportation system through dispute resolution, essential economic regulation and communication in a fair, transparent and timely manner.

Our Vision

To be a respected, leading tribunal contributing to a competitive and accessible national transportation system, efficiently meeting the needs of users and service providers and the Canadian economy.

For more on the Agency's role and vision, refer to http://www.cta.gc.ca/eng/aboutus.

Responsibilities

By administering transportation regulations and providing dispute resolution services, the Agency ensures that transportation users, commercial shippers and individual travellers receive the protection provided for them in the legislation if market forces alone do not result in fair, reasonable service while ensuring that carriers meet basic public policy requirements before entering the market.

In doing so, the Agency constantly sets and strives to achieve high performance standards.

Education and consultation are integral to the Agency's effectiveness in carrying out its mandate. The Agency works closely with those who use and provide transportation services in Canada and others directly affected by them. It helps travellers, shippers, carriers, municipalities and others to fully understand not only their rights and obligations under the Canada Transportation Act, but also the Agency's roles and responsibilities.

When appropriate, the Agency encourages parties to resolve disputes informally before issues escalate and impact the transportation system. The Agency consults as widely as possible on issues that are important to the transportation industry. By remaining open and by listening to all affected parties, the Agency ensures that its decisions are both responsive and responsible.

The Agency exercises its powers through its five Members, appointed by the Governor in Council: a Chair, a Vice-Chair and three full-time Members. The Minister of Transport can also appoint up to three additional temporary Members.

The Chair is accountable for the Agency's program activities. All appointed Agency Members are accountable for making quasi-judicial decisions on individual matters before the Agency. Agency employees advise and support Members in these proceedings.

The Canadian Transportation Agency's organizational structure divides its primary functions — dispute resolution and economic regulation — into two operational Branches. Within each of these two Branches is housed the expertise in the various subject areas and modes of transportation under its jurisdiction. In total, the Agency has the following five Branches:

• Chair's Office
• Corporate Management Branch
• Legal and Alternative Dispute Resolution Services Branch
• Dispute Resolution Branch
• Industry Regulation and Determinations Branch

The Agency's headquarters are located in the National Capital Region. Agency personnel working in field offices in six cities across Canada carry out air and accessibility enforcement activities. More information about the role and the structure of the Agency can be found on its Web site at http://www.cta.gc.ca/eng/aboutus.

Parliament funds the Agency through an operating expenditures vote. The Agency operates within the context of the very large and complex Canadian transportation system (for details, refer to Transport Canada's Web site at http://www.tc.gc.ca).

Strategic Outcome and Program Activity Architecture

1.2 Performance Summary

Financial and Human Resources Information

The resources used in relation to the Strategic Outcome in fiscal year 2008–2009 are summarized in the following tables.

Financial Resources ($ thousands)

Planned Spending	Total Authorities	Actual Spending
26,094	29,195	26,985

Human Resources (full-time equivalents or FTEs)

Planned	Actual	Difference
251	223	28

Strategic Outcome 1: Transparent, fair and efficient economic regulation of the federal transportation system
Performance Indicators	Targets	2008–2009 Performance Summary
Feedback from users of, service providers within and others affected by the national transportation system on perceived transparency, fairness and efficiency of the decision-making process	2008: Design survey	Met
	2009: Conduct benchmark surveys and set targets	Will meet by 2009–2010
	2010: Conduct subsequent survey	Will meet by 2010–2011
Percentage of discretionary rulings overturned by the Federal Court of Appeal on basis of procedural fairness	0%	0%
Percentage of cases resolved within prescribed time limits	Disputes resolved formally: 65% resolved within 120 days	56%[1]
	Determinations: 95% issued within 120 days	95%
	Licences: 85% issued within 14 days	94%
	Charter permits: 92% issued within 30 days	91%
	Mediation: 100% completed within 30 days (when no extension request)	91%

($ thousands)

Program Activity	2007–2008 Actual Spending	2008–2009				Alignment to Government of Canada Outcomes
		Main Estimates	Planned Spending	Total Authorities	Actual Spending
Economic regulation of the federal transportation system *	25,491	26,094	26,094	29,195	26,985	The Agency's single program activity contributes to the Government of Canada's Outcome of “a fair and secure marketplace”

* Includes contributions to employee benefit plans.

Explanation of variances

The planned spending for the Agency in 2008–2009 was $26.1 million; however, the Agency concluded the year with a revised authority to spend $29.2 million. The increase was due to an increase in appropriations for the 2007–2008 carry forward ($1.1 million), collective bargaining ($1.1 million) and the reimbursement of eligible pay list expenditures ($1.1 million) offset by a decrease in employee benefit plans ($0.2 million).

Overall, the Agency's total authorities in 2008–2009 were $29.2 million; however, the Agency concluded the year with actual spending of $27.0 million. The decrease of $2.2 million is due to:

• $1.1 million in operating carry forward to 2009–2010; and
• $1.1 million in operating funding that was not spent in 2008–2009.

Under-utilization of FTEs can be explained by the following:

• turnover;
• difficulty in finding qualified replacements because of low labour market availability for jobs being staffed; and
• delays in the staffing and classification process.

Contribution of Priorities to Strategic Outcome

In its 2008–2011 Strategic Plan, the Agency identified and pursued the following five priorities during 2008–2009:

Priority	Type	Performance Status
Effective dispute resolution and economic regulation	New	Partially attained and ongoing
Focussing on people as its greatest asset	New	Partially attained and ongoing
Enhanced internal and external relations through clear and timely communications	New	Partially attained and ongoing
Accessible transportation network without undue obstacles to the mobility of persons	New	Partially attained and ongoing
Organizational support and responsiveness through superior management practices	New	Partially attained and ongoing

A summary of the Agency's progress on these priorities during 2008–2009 is as follows:

Effective dispute resolution and economic regulation

• Successfully eliminated a significant backlog of dispute cases;
• Created a permanently staffed alternative dispute resolution service; and
• Improved the responsiveness and effectiveness with which disputes are resolved.

The Agency's people as its greatest asset

• Completed a gap analysis and identification of key positions and Agency vulnerabilities as part of succession planning;
• Initiated a knowledge transfer project;
• Expanded the Agency's investment in employee learning and training; and
• Created and maintained pools of qualified candidates through anticipatory staffing and succession planning.

Enhanced internal and external relations

• Launched a fully redesigned Agency Web site;
• Published Take Charge of your Travel, a new guide designed to help persons with disabilities when they travel;
• Developed a client satisfaction survey framework to be implemented beginning in 2009–2010; and
• Conducted an internal employee survey and held consultations on internal communications, including the Agency's intranet and awards and recognition program.

A more accessible transportation network

• Monitored the implementation by Air Canada, Jazz Air and WestJet of a one-person-one-fare policy for the domestic travel of persons with severe disabilities, as per its 2007–2008 decision; and
• Developed a new compliance monitoring framework designed to assess the extent to which transportation service providers are abiding by the Agency's accessibility regulations and Codes of Practice and to assist them where necessary in enhancing their compliance.

Organizational support and responsiveness

• Implemented a new organizational structure based on the Agency's two main functions: dispute resolution and economic regulation;
• Implemented a Performance Measurement Framework, began reporting on these indicators in this report and made significant progress in meeting the targeted performance levels; and
• Implemented a new Governance Framework for the Agency.

Risk Analysis

As a demand-driven organization with a mandate to serve Canadians in respect to transportation issues, the Agency's operations are affected by the external environment, government policies and the legislation. Significant changes in these areas have an impact on the Agency's ability to respond quickly to meet client and stakeholder expectations, due to its limited resources and capacity. Where possible, the Agency offers facilitation and mediation as alternatives to its formal process. These alternatives allow parties to resolve their issues in an informal manner that is faster, less litigious and less costly to all parties than the Agency's traditional decision-making process. The Agency has created a permanently staffed alternative dispute resolution service to continue promotion of and deal with the increased demand for this method of dispute resolution.

The Agency's mandate and responsibilities were recently expanded as a result of the passage of Bills C-8 and C-11 that imposed additional responsibilities on the Agency. The full impact of these changes on the current workload is still unknown; however, the Agency remains proactive in monitoring and addressing any changes in resource requirements.

These increased pressures — new responsibilities, greater demands, more complex cases, fewer resources — led the Agency to embark on a process of organizational renewal. The central aim of this process was to ensure that the Agency is able to adapt to an ever-changing environment by increasing flexibility and shifting resources where they are needed most. Adopting a more flexible approach enables the Agency to make the best use of its people, knowledge and expertise better manage risks and priorities.

A key component of the Agency's renewal was the implementation of a new organizational structure, which took effect on April 1, 2008. With this new structure, the Agency is now in a better position to manage workloads, respond to complex cases quickly and adapt to ongoing changes in its operating environment. The new organizational structure is intended to address challenges faced by the Agency through improving process efficiency. This ensures optimum use and realignment of resources that will match priorities and workload to meet these challenges.

The changing demographics of the Public Service workforce, and of the Agency in particular, present a significant human resource management challenge. The Agency is at risk of losing significant and unique corporate knowledge and expertise over the next few years as it faces retirements of long-term key employees. The retention of knowledge and expertise is critical to maintaining the level of service already provided, as well as adapting to additional responsibilities.

The Agency fully embraces the principle that employees are the greatest asset of any organization. It also recognizes that to attract and retain highly skilled individuals, they must be provided with a working environment that fosters innovation, develops talent and creates opportunities for employee development. The Agency continues to focus its efforts on recruiting, retaining and developing highly competent staff with the capabilities to ensure that there is a transfer of this knowledge and expertise to support the Agency's mandate. Areas where the Agency is most vulnerable to loss of business critical knowledge have been identified and are being addressed through various policies and corporate initiatives such as staffing pools of qualified candidates, targeted knowledge transfer initiatives, succession planning, continuous learning programs and in-house language training.

A new Governance Framework and significant changes to committee structures have ensured that the Agency is now equipped with a comprehensive and integrated model for management.[2] It is designed to help the Agency meet the objectives and priorities set out in its three-year Strategic Plan. Under this new Framework, the Executive Committee continues to set the governance and corporate strategic direction for the Agency, approve policies, budgets, operational plans and the Program Activity Architecture as well as monitor overall organizational performance. This Governance Framework has been established to specifically address the implementation of the Strategic Plan and to involve and engage employees at all levels. One of the key responsibilities of committee members is to keep employees informed and engaged on key developments arising from the work of these committees.

The Agency continued to integrate risk management into its strategic planning process and encourages effective risk management. Course corrections were made based on risk management performance and new information. For instance, the Agency considered the impact on its workload and resource requirements when new legislation imposed additional responsibilities. Associated resource requirements are based on forecasts and are continuously monitored through the Agency committees. The Agency adopted a more proactive and integrated approach to planning through the development of its three-year Strategic Plan[3] and detailed action plan. These plans will continue to serve as the mitigation strategies for 2008–2011.

While it is difficult to predict potential changes to its environment, the Agency must remain vigilant and proactive in order to adapt to any changes that significantly impact its service delivery. This is accomplished through enhanced communication and dialogue with stakeholders (clients, federal government partners, Parliamentarians and issue-focussed groups), allowing the Agency the opportunity to address and adapt internally and ensure sufficient resources (both financial and human) are properly in place.

Expenditure Profile

Link to the Government of Canada Outcome Areas

The Agency's Strategic Outcome and Program Activity are directly aligned with the broader Government of Canada Strategic Outcome of a fair and secure marketplace. The regulatory programs the Agency implements are designed to resolve economic issues, to remove transportation barriers and to protect the rights of consumers, carriers and other interested parties. These programs help improve the overall quality of life in Canada, as an efficient and accessible transportation system benefits all Canadians.

The Agency is one of many players involved in transportation and it maintains close ties with its various co-delivery partners, including Transport Canada, the Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade, the Canada Border Services Agency and the Canadian Human Rights Commission. For details on these relationships, refer to the Agency's Web site at http://www.cta.gc.ca/about-nous/partners_e.html.

Voted and Statutory Items

Vote # or Statutory Item (S)	Truncated Vote or Statutory Wording	2006–2007 Actual Spending ($ thousands)	2007–2008 Actual Spending ($ thousands)	2008–2009 Main Estimates ($ thousands)	2008–2009 Actual Spending ($ thousands)
	Canadian Transportation Agency
25	Operating expenditures	23,289	22,423	22,803	23,919
(S)	Spending of proceeds from the disposal of surplus Crown assets	65	0	0	17
(S)	Contributions to employee benefit plans	3,197	3,069	3,291	3,049
Total		26,551	25,492	26,094	26,985

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