ARCHIVED - Transportation Appeal Tribunal of Canad - Report

• Previous Page
• Table of Contents
• Next Page

This page has been archived.

Minister’s Message

It is my privilege to report the activities of the Transportation Appeal Tribunal of Canada (or the “Tribunal”). The reporting period of 2010-2011 represents 25 years of service by the Tribunal which, together with its predecessor, the Civil Aviation Tribunal, has delivered high quality adjudicative service to Canadians.

The Tribunal is a quasi-judicial body adjudicating matters that have a serious impact on the livelihood and operations of the aviation, marine and rail sectors of the Federal transportation system and recently, transportation security issues.

The Tribunal has made progress and innovations while keeping up with its expanding mandate to include cases under the Marine Transportation Security Act and the Canada Shipping Act, 2001. Over the years, the Tribunal’s practice and procedures have been flexible, innovative and straightforward and the Tribunal became one of the Federal government's best practices organizations. The basic principles governing the Tribunal are those of independence and transportation expertise in an administrative law environment espousing the principles of fairness and natural justice.

The very existence of the Tribunal, as a forum for the review of enforcement and licensing decisions has, in and of itself, created an environment for the resolution of matters between Transport Canada and the air, marine and rail industries that it regulates. That is to say, that the Tribunal provides a forum for the parties to talk to each other, to communicate and that alone facilitates the resolution of many matters, such as aviation medical cases.

Finally, I offer my gratitude to all Tribunal Members and employees for their dedication to the provision of an independent review process for the benefit of Canada's aviation, marine and rail community. I am confident that the Tribunal can continue to meet future challenges with the commitment to excellence evidenced by its past and present performances of the Tribunal.

The Honourable Denis Lebel, P.C., M.P.
Minister of Transport, Infrastructure and Communities and Minister of the Economic Development Agency of Canada for the Regions of Quebec

Section I: Organizational Overview

Raison d’être

The mandate and the jurisdiction of the Transportation Appeal Tribunal of Canada (the “Tribunal”) are provided for by the Transportation Appeal Tribunal of Canada Act. The Tribunal's principal mandate as a multimodal review body is to hold Review and Appeal Hearings at the request of interested parties with respect to certain administrative actions taken under various Federal transportation Acts.

Responsibilities

The Transportation Appeal Tribunal of Canada provides the national transportation community with the opportunity to have enforcement and licensing decisions of the Minister of Transport reviewed by an independent body. The Minister's enforcement and licensing decisions may include the imposition of monetary penalties or the suspension, cancellation, refusal to renew or refusal to issue or amend documents of entitlement on medical or other grounds. The person or corporation affected is referred to as the document holder.

These decisions are reviewed through a two-level hearing process: Review and Appeal Hearings. All Hearings are to be held expeditiously and informally, in accordance with the rules of fairness and natural justice.

At the conclusion of a Hearing, the Tribunal may confirm the Minister's decision, substitute its own decision, or refer the matter back to the Minister for reconsideration.

Strategic Outcome(s) and Program Activity Architecture (PAA)

[Description of the image]

Organizational Priorities

Performance/Priority Status Legend

Exceeded: More than 100 per cent of the expected level of performance (as evidenced by the indicator and target or planned activities and outputs) for the expected result or priority identified in the corresponding Report on Plans and Priorities (RPP) was achieved during the fiscal year.

Met all: 100 per cent of the expected level of performance (as evidenced by the indicator and target or planned activities and expected outputs) for the expected result or priority identified in the corresponding RPP was achieved during the fiscal year.

Mostly met: 80 to 99 per cent of the expected level of performance (as evidenced by the indicator and target or planned activities and expected outputs) for the expected result or priority identified in the corresponding RPP was achieved during the fiscal year.

Somewhat met: 60 to 79 per cent of the expected level of performance (as evidenced by the indicator and target or planned activities and outputs) for the expected result or priority identified in the corresponding RPP was achieved during the fiscal year.

Not met: Less than 60 per cent of the expected level of performance (as evidenced by the indicator and target or planned activities and outputs) for the expected result or priority identified in the corresponding RPP was achieved during the fiscal year.

Priority	Type[1]	Strategic Outcome(s) and/or Program Activity(ies)	Status
Hold hearings expeditiously and informally	Ongoing	To provide the Canadian transportation community with the opportunity to have administrative or enforcement actions under Federal transportation Acts reviewed by an independent body.	Mostly Met Summary of accomplishments: Services were available to informally resolve transportation related disputes in a manner that is simple, rapid, less litigious and less costly; Hearings were conducted in accordance with the rules of fairness and natural justice; Use of pre-hearing conferences streamlined and expedited hearing processes; Consistent and high quality decisions rendered Work in progress: The Tribunal is increasing its efforts to attract qualified transportation experts to join the Tribunal as Members
Business Continuity Planning	Ongoing	To provide the Canadian transportation community with the opportunity to have administrative or enforcement actions under Federal transportation Acts reviewed by an independent body.	Met All A Business Continuity Plan has been in place since 2007 and is reviewed on a yearly basis to ensure and maintain its business continuity plan readiness.
Increase awareness of the Transportation Appeal Tribunal of Canada with respect to its mission, mandate, role and results achieved	Ongoing	To provide the Canadian transportation community with the opportunity to have administrative or enforcement actions under Federal transportation Acts reviewed by an independent body.	Met All Enhancements and improvements to the Tribunal website along with making decisions available to the public has increased awareness and provided better information among the transportation community and key stakeholders with respect to the Tribunal’s mandate and services. The Tribunal is educating transportation stakeholders through presentations, seminars and speeches, as well as attendance at aviation, marine and rail conferences or symposiums.

Risk Analysis

As a micro-organization, due to increased enforcement proceedings emanating from the marine sector, the Tribunal’s main risk is the increased pressure on its resources from an increased and unpredictable workload, as well as the need to meet the obligations of government-wide horizontal initiatives. The Tribunal’s activities are driven by external demands that it can only react to rather than plan for.

In addition to an increased demand for services, the Tribunal has had to manage ongoing increases in operating costs, such as the per diem for Members, hotels, hearing rooms, court reporters, travel charges, information technology upgrades and translation costs, while its funding budget has remained stable.

It must be noted, however, that one of the most important risks is the number and skill set of Members available to conduct hearings. In order to deliver on our mandate and program, the Tribunal needs to have Members with the right mix of skills and talents in all three modes of transportation, as well as medical expertise.

Accordingly, the Tribunal has in place numerous strategies to mitigate these potential risks, which include seeking additional funding to sustain its multi-modal transportation mandate, as well as increasing its efforts to attract qualified transportation experts to join the Tribunal as Members.

Summary of Performance

2010–11 Financial Resources (thousands of dollars)

Planned Spending	Total Authorities	Actual Spending
1,785.2	1,785.2	1,732.0

2010–11 Human Resources (full-time equivalents—FTEs)

Planned	Actual	Difference
12	8	4

Strategic Outcome: To provide the Canadian transportation community with the opportunity to have administrative or enforcement actions under federal transportation Acts reviewed by an independent body.

Performance Indicators	Targets	2010–11 Performance
% of disposition of Review and Appeal Hearings within 90 days of request for a Hearing.	100% decisions rendered within 90 days.	The average lapsed time between the conclusion of a Review Hearing and the issuance of a determination was on average 98 days for a Review Hearing and 160 days for an Appeal Hearing. The increase in lapsed time was caused by the increased complexities of the cases brought before the Tribunal, and also an increase in the number of cases
% of Members provided with training or refresher courses.	100% of Members provided with training within 120 days of their appointment.	During fiscal year 2010-2011, PCO appointed six Members to the Tribunal who were provided training. All new Members were provided with training within 120 days of their appointment.
% of Registry staff provided with GIC training.	100% of staff provided with training at fiscal year-end.	As part of their learning plans, Registry staff participated in the three-day training session.
% of decisions published on Web site.	100% of decisions are published on our Web site within 120 days of a Hearing.	With the exception of those decisions rendered in excess of 120 days of the Hearing, all decisions are published within 120 days of the Hearing, as set out in the Tribunal’s targets.* *Except for medical cases and in-camera hearings where information is kept confidential.

Program Activity	2009–10 Actual Spending (thousands of dollars)	2010–11[2] (thousands of dollars)				Alignment to Government of Canada Outcome
		Main Estimates	Planned Spending	Total Authorities	Actual Spending
Review and Appeal Hearings	1,165.6	1,426.5	1,426.5	1,426.5	1,388.5	A safe and secure Canada

Program Activity	2009–10 Actual Spending (thousands of dollars)	2010–11 (thousands of dollars)
		Main Estimates	Planned Spending	Total Authorities	Actual Spending
Internal Services	263.6	358.7	358.7	358.7	343.5

Expenditure Profile

Departmental Spending Trend ($ thousands)

[Description of the image]

Estimates by Vote

For information on our organizational Votes and/or statutory expenditures, please see the 2010–11 Public Accounts of Canada (Volume II) publication. An electronic version of the Public Accounts is available on the Public Works and Government Services Canada website.^[3]

• Previous Page
• Table of Contents
• Next Page