ARCHIVED - Transportation Appeal Tribunal of Canada

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Section II: Analysis of Program Activities by Strategic Outcome

Strategic Outcome

The strategic outcome of the Tribunal is to provide the Canadian transportation community with the opportunity to have enforcement and licensing decisions of the Minister of transport reviewed by an independent body.

The Tribunal's only activity is the provision of an independent review process for aviation, rail and marine by providing document holders with the opportunity to proceed with a hearing. The Tribunal represents the only forum ensuring that document holders have access to an independent assessment governed by considerations of natural justice. Its role does not overlap with, nor is it duplicated by, any other agency, board or commission. It is unique in the transportation field, in that its function is entirely adjudicative.

Review and Appeal Hearings

The objective is to provide for the operation of an independent Tribunal to respond to requests from the transportation community for review of enforcement and licensing decisions taken by the Minister of Transport under the Aeronautics Act, the Canada Transportation Act, the Railway Safety Act, the Marine Transportation Security Act, the Canada Marine Act, the Canada Shipping Act, 2001 and the International Bridges and Tunnels Act, and to conduct hearings into such appeals.

Program Activity by Strategic Outcome

Program Activity: Review and Appeal Hearings

2008-09 Financial Resources ($ thousands)			2008-2009 Human Resources (FTEs)
Planned Spending	Total Authorities	Actual Spending	Planned	Actual	Difference
1,659.7	1,834.0	1,748.6	12	10	2

Expected Results	Performance Indicators	Targets	Performance Status	Performance Summary
Access to an independent assessment governed by considerations of natural justice	Hearings conducted in a timely manner	100% of decisions rendered within 90 days	Exceeded	The average lapsed time between the conclusion of a review hearing and the issuance of a determination is 70 days and 85 days for an appeal.
Plans, measures and arrangements are in place to ensure the continuous delivery of critical services, which permits the organization to recover its data and assets	Business Continuity Plan (BCP) Developed Tools to maintain business continuity plan readiness, such as contingency plan, emergency response plan, etc.	March 2009	Mostly met	Since 2007, the Tribunal has had a BCP. The plan was recently updated along with the tools and the procedures.
Improved awareness and better information among the Transportation community and key stakeholders with respect to the Tribunal's mandate, services and decisions	Tribunal information accessible to the lay person in a timely manner	June 2009	Successfully met	3500 decisions were uploaded onto the Tribunal's Web site in both official languages.

Benefits for Canadians

The Tribunal is unique in the transportation field in that its sole function is adjudicative. It provides document holders with the opportunity to have an independent hearing that is informal, expeditious and fair.

The cases before the Tribunal are regulatory in nature and concern matters of safety and security.

The Tribunal's performance indicators verify that these cases are conducted in a timely manner and that Tribunal information is accessible on its Web site.

The Tribunal process is able to quickly identify concerns in the transportation field of a technical or legislative nature leading to necessary amendments to legislation for the benefit of all Canadians through the enhancement and maintenance of transportation safety in Canada.

Performance Analysis

The program's effectiveness can be measured by its ability to provide the transportation community with the opportunity to have ministerial decisions reviewed fairly, equitably and within a reasonable period of time.

The average lapsed time between the conclusion of a review hearing and the issuance of a determination is 70 days and 85 days for an appeal. This brings the hearing process to a timely conclusion for both parties appearing before the Tribunal.

The Tribunal encourages the use of pre-hearing conferences to assist the parties appearing before it, to identify the issues for determination by the Tribunal and to disclose and exchange documents. This reduces the length of hearings and avoids last-minute adjournments necessitated by late disclosure.

Such conferences have also been particularly effective in settling licence suspensions and refusal to renew on medical grounds without the necessity of a hearing. The Tribunal registrars contact the parties to schedule mutually agreed hearing dates to the extent possible to avoid unnecessary adjournments.

In 2007-2008, the Tribunal referred 6 cases back to the Minister of Transport for reconsideration, pursuant to sections 6.72 and 7.1 of the Aeronautics Act, the Tribunal lacking the power to substitute its own decision for that of the Minister in these cases. The Minister confirmed its original decision in 1 case, and we are still awaiting the outcome in the 5 remaining cases.

In 2008-2009, the Tribunal referred 2 cases back to the Minister. We are still awaiting the outcome in these 2 cases.

Lessons Learned

The Tribunal's only activity is the provision of an independent review process for aviation, rail and marine by providing document holders with the opportunity to proceed with a hearing.

Lessons learned can be defined as experiences acquired in the execution of programs and services that can provide value-added direction to future plans and efforts to achieve results.  A plan must be in place to address and follow up on these actions and directions in future Report on Plans and Priorities.

The Tribunal's sole objective is to be effective, independent and to overcome the burden of delays and costs occasioned by the court system.

To promote communication between the parties with a view to settlement, the registry encourages early disclosure of documents to the applicant. In order to resolve outstanding issues that may delay the scheduling of the hearing, the registry will arrange a teleconference with a Tribunal member.

These experiences in aviation sector cases will prove valuable as marine and rail sector cases increase in complexity and will provide precedents in training sessions.

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