Canadian Transportation Agency launches consultation on Phase II of its Accessible Transportation for Persons with Disabilities Regulations

GATINEAU, QC, Dec. 3, 2019 /CNW/ - On this International Day of Persons with Disabilities, the Canadian Transportation Agency (CTA) is launching a second phase of consultations on regulatory reform in the area of accessible transportation. These consultations will focus on:

• How to apply Accessible Transportation for Persons with Disabilities Regulations (ATPDR) provisions to small transportation providers – with adjustments to reflect their unique operating realities;
• Whether or not to apply the One Person, One Fare (1p1f) requirement to international travel and to small transportation providers;
• What, if anything, to require of transportation providers with respect to Emotional Support Animals and service animals other than dogs; and
• Planning and reporting frameworks for transportation providers, pursuant to the Accessible Canada Act, which came into force on July 11, 2019.

The CTA is interested in broad input from its Accessibility Advisory Committee, disability community organizations, the transportation industry, and members of the public. Any interested party can consult the CTA's consultation paper and provide written submissions by email at [email protected] until February 7, 2020. All submissions will be considered public documents and will be posted on the CTA's website unless a party asks the CTA not to release certain confidential information. More detailed information on submissions is available in the consultation paper.

The proposed regulations will be drafted and pre-published in Canada Gazette I after the consultations have been completed and all input has been considered. There will be an opportunity to review and comment on draft regulations before they are finalized, approved by the CTA and Cabinet, and published in Canada Gazette II. The goal is to have regulations in place by summer 2021.

Quote

"The first phase of ATPDR development helped advance our vision of making Canada's national transportation system the most accessible in the world. We are now moving forward with phase II, and look forward to receiving input from a wide range of stakeholders, experts, and interested Canadians. Together, we can help ensure that the fundamental right of persons with disabilities to accessible transportation is realized in practice."

Scott Streiner, Chair and CEO of the Canadian Transportation Agency

Background

On July 10, 2019, the CTA announced that the first phase of regulatory reform in the area of accessible transportation, the new ATPDR, was finalized. The CTA consolidated its various accessibility instruments – six voluntary codes and two regulations – to create a single, robust, legally binding set of accessible transportation regulations. The ATPDR establish legally binding requirements for transportation services, technical standards for equipment, communications, training, and security and border screening. Most provisions of the regulations will come into effect on June 25, 2020. A number of outstanding accessibility-related issues will be considered through this second phase of consultations and regulatory development.

About the Agency 

The Canadian Transportation Agency is an independent, quasi-judicial tribunal and regulator that has, with respect to all matters necessary for the exercise of its jurisdiction, all the powers of a superior court. The CTA has three core mandates: helping to keep the national transportation system running efficiently and smoothly, protecting the fundamental right of persons with disabilities to accessible transportation services, and providing consumer protection for air passengers. To help advance these mandates, the CTA makes and enforces ground rules that establish the rights and responsibilities of transportation service providers and users and level the playing field among competitors, resolves disputes using a range of tools from facilitation and mediation to arbitration and adjudication, and ensures that transportation providers and users are aware of their rights and responsibilities and how the CTA can help them.

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SOURCE Canadian Transportation Agency

Canadian Transportation Agency, Media Relations, [email protected], Tel.: [phone]