Health committee  There are all sorts of possible measures that can be taken. At this point it would be premature for me to speculate about what decision the agency might come up with.

Health committee  We're still at the early stages. We're in the process of receiving les plaidoiries from the applicants and from the carriers. So there's a process where the evidence is exchanged and comments are provided by both parties. In this case, we have two carriers, so there are multiple parties.

Health committee  Yes. Please allow me to answer in English.

Health committee  Well, that's where we get into the determination of whether a person who has an allergy is a person with a disability for the purposes of our act and applying the legislation.

Health committee  There are various options for an air traveller. If, for example, the airline does not allow pets in the cabin, it may allow pets in the baggage compartment. For those airlines that don't, sometimes there are strictly cargo carriers, so an individual could always ship their animal on a cargo carrier or find another airline.

Health committee  That possibly might be an option for them as well, but I'm not really that familiar about whether trains will accept pets as cargo. Are you talking about somebody travelling with a pet on a train?

Health committee  Gee, I'm sorry, I don't know the answer to that question. I could try to find out what VIA Rail's policies are vis-à-vis pets.

Health committee  This is not a requirement. A complaint can be filed in anticipation. For example, the agency dealt with complaints from people who were preparing to travel and who, having been made aware of the rules of a carrier, decided that they would cause them a problem. It is possible to file a complaint without having experienced the situation.

Health committee  There's a wide spectrum of allergies. You could have somebody with a very minimal reaction to a particular allergen. It's very difficult to come out with a blanket resolution that would cover the whole spectrum of allergies. Instead, the agency looks at it on a case-by-case basis.

Health committee  I think I can hear, thank you.

Health committee  There is a variety of different policies as to whether or not carriers allow them. It really depends on the airline. Some do, some don't. Some restrict the number, some will not even allow it in baggage. It really does vary. I would submit, though, that probably more do than don't.

Health committee  Yes.

Health committee  In Canada, particularly, carriers are free to set those terms and conditions of carriage, subject to their being just and reasonable. Occasionally we will receive complaints from air travellers saying that a particular tariff condition is not reasonable, and the agency will hear that complaint.

Health committee  Thank you, Madam Chair and members of the committee. I'm Joan MacDonald, the director general of dispute resolution at the Canadian Transportation Agency. My colleague is Mary-Jane Gravelle, our director of accessible transportation at the agency. The Canadian Transportation Agency is a federal administrative tribunal whose jurisdiction covers a wide range of economic matters affecting air, rail, and marine modes, and includes accessible transportation for persons with disabilities.

Transport committee  Yes, that's how the bill is worded now, that it would be upon the minister requesting the agency to make those regulations. If he were to do so, then we would start our consultative process to develop those regulations. Then it would go through the normal regulatory process, which is publication in the Canada Gazette.