Thank you, Mr. Chairman and honourable members.
It's my pleasure to be here today to answer your questions on the Transportation Appeal Tribunal of Canada. I'll give you what I hope is a brief overview of the tribunal.
The Transportation Appeal Tribunal of Canada is a quasi-judicial body established by reason of the Transportation Appeal Tribunal of Canada Act. It replaces the Civil Aviation Tribunal which was established under Part IV of the Aeronautics Act following upon the recommendations of Mr. Justice Charles Dubin in his report into aviation safety.
The Dubin Report, published in 1982, includes three parts. To paraphrase Mr. Justice Dubin, he wanted to elevate the importance of aviation enforcement. His focus became the objective of the program to provide the aviation community with the opportunity to have the enforcement and licensing decisions of the Minister of Transport reviewed by an independent body.
By setting up a specialized quasi-judicial tribunal, the enforcement procedure was decriminalized, as is appropriate for contraventions relating to regulatory offences that are not totally criminal in nature. In its legislation, the Department of Transport reserves criminal court proceedings for the most serious offences. Hence, enforcement cases were removed from the criminal courts to the tribunal, and administrative monetary penalties ranged from $5,000 for breach of a regulation by an individual to $25,000 for a company. For the more serious enforcement cases, licence suspensions could be imposed by the minister.
I note that Bill C-6increases the maximum monetary penalties assessed against an individual to $50,000, and as against a company the proposed maximum is $250,000.
As mentioned, in addition to enforcement cases, licensing decisions made by the Minister of Transport may also come before the tribunal. These matters relate to qualifications to hold a variety of documents of entitlement, including matters of competence for medical or other reasons.
Prior to the setting up of the Tribunal on June 1, 1986, matters of qualifications to hold a pilot license or an air operator certificate were heard under the Air Regulations of that time.
A request for a review of the decision to suspend such a document was not heard by an independent body. Rather, the review procedure was conducted by someone in the Department of Transport, usually one level up from the person who originally sent the Notice of Suspension. Although there were many safeguards and guidelines built in such a system, the man on the street does not perceive it as a very independent review since it is done by the same Department.
That was the aim of Mr. Justice Dubin when he said that an independent tribunal composed of impartial members with subject matter expertise should be hearing these matters related to suspension.
The cases referred to above may include imposition of monetary penalties, or suspension, cancellation or 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.
The review and appeal hearings are held expeditiously and informally in accordance with the rules of fairness and natural justice, which involve the right of the individual or company to have a hearing before an unbiased and impartial hearing officer. 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.
The basic principles governing the Tribunal are those of independence and expertise. The sound and competent execution of the Tribunal's mandate determines its effectiveness in dealing with the Canadian transportation community.
The tribunal's chairperson is also its chief executive officer, and the tribunal is responsible for the direction and supervision of the work necessary to facilitate the functions of the tribunal.
The part-time members are drawn from across Canada and are appointed by order in council on the basis of their knowledge and expertise. The office of the tribunal is located in the national capital region.
In enforcement matters, the hearing will normally be located where the incident took place. In medical cases, the hearings will be at the location that is nearest to the residence of the document holder.
In addition to the full- and part-time members—there are two full-time members—we have eight employees. That's our entire organization. Over the past 20 years, we have worked on an average of 250 to 300 cases per year, and approximately 60 to 80 of those go to a hearing. Many of the cases, obviously, get settled along the way.
Over the years, the practices and procedures of the tribunal were flexible and straightforward, and the tribunal became an example of government's best practices. It worked well over time because the tribunal took pains to keep its process simple and accessible to applicants, thereby providing effective recourse rights regarding certain administrative decisions.
The informal procedure and simplified rules allow the document holder to represent himself or herself without counsel, but representation by counsel is certainly permitted. Each applicant, upon filing a request with the tribunal, receives a copy of the guide to hearings. There are no user fees at the tribunal. We've been fortunate that we've been able to do that so far.
A review of the tribunal's operations reveals two things. The tribunal appears to be successful in disposing of the matters that have come before it in an expeditious fashion. It has certainly been more successful than the previous system, from an aviation perspective. It also appears that the very existence of the tribunal as a forum for review of enforcement and licensing decisions has, in and of itself, created an environment for the resolution of matters between the Department of Transport and those that it regulates—that is to say, we get the parties talking. This, alone, resolves many matters. Those that remain go to a hearing.
I thank you, and I await your questions.