Transport committee  Once again, I don't think this is a question for the agency responsible for administering the act.

Transport committee  I was not here for the presentations of the people from Transport Canada. So I'm not sure which provisions they discussed. If the reference was to the discontinuance provisions in the legislation, those provisions require the railway company to go through a fairly lengthy proce

Transport committee  There's no doubt about that. Dealing with complaints takes staff. We have introduced a number of efficiency measures. We've redirected resources to deal with this large number of complaints. We've also introduced a number of efficiency measures that have helped to improve our pro

Transport committee  Once again, it is a matter of politics, objectives and the logic of the bill. With all due respect, this question should be addressed to the minister and the folks from Transport Canada. It is not a question for the agency that administers the act, but is not its author.

Transport committee  One of the things we've observed in our administration of the legislation—and I believe that both of my colleagues at the table have referenced this in some way—is that in the United States, the Surface Transportation Board posts a significant amount of information online on the

Transport committee  Thank you. I should clarify that while we've had a surge in the last week—230 complaints—we've actually been running at about 400 per month, not 1,000 per month, over the last year. That said, 400 per month is still four, five, or six times, more than we had been processing in

Transport committee  Again, I want to be a little careful about interpreting legislation that I may need to interpret as an adjudicator. I think what I would say is that if the committee wishes the legislation to be clearer on this point, then of course the committee can suggest adjustments that woul

Transport committee  The only points I would make, I will make extremely briefly, Madam Chair, and Mr. Emerson has already underscored one of the points. Since 2010, the CTA has suggested in its annual reports to Parliament that its own-motion power, its ability to initiate inquiries on its own motio

Transport committee  A three-hour limit with respect to when the tarmac-delay provisions come into play is, if my memory serves me correctly, consistent with the practice in some other jurisdictions. Whether that is the right limit, I think, is something that I would defer to the committee and to Par

Transport committee  No, all of those complaints do not come from a single flight. We're entering a bit into the realm of speculation here, but I would suggest, as I did in my opening remarks, that in general the jump in air travel complaints reflects the public's increased awareness of the availabil

Transport committee  We already have an obligation under the Canada Transportation Act to report annually to Parliament on trends that we see in air traveller complaints, including how many complaints have been filed with respect to service by different airlines. So that's already in the public domai

Transport committee  Madam Chair, I trust that the members will understand that as an adjudicator I have to be careful about interpreting legislation that's not yet on the books and on which we don't have an application. Having said that, as I read the bill, it doesn't dictate to the CTA that the tra

Transport committee  No, Madam Chair, the CTA's mandate does not include monitoring the maintenance of transportation infrastructure. That's not included currently in our mandate under the legislation.

Transport committee  With respect, I would refer the question back to Transport Canada. It regulates for safety and security purposes. The Canadian Transportation Agency, the institution I lead, regulates for economic and accessibility purposes.

Transport committee  We have very limited jurisdiction with respect to, say, airports or port authorities, which I assume is what the honourable member is referring to. We do have authority with respect to accessibility issues, which I talked about earlier. That's the accessibility of airports and po