Canadians Have One Week Left to Submit Comments on Air Services Price Advertising Regulation

OTTAWA, Sept. 6, 2012 /CNW/ - There is only one week remaining to review and comment on the proposed regulatory amendments to the Air Transportation Regulations (ATR) pertaining to the advertisement of the price of air services.

Input received by nearly 3,600 stakeholders and Canadians who participated in the online consultation held in February informed the development of the Agency's proposed ATR amendments. The proposed amendments were pre-published in Part I of the Canada Gazette on July 3, 2012 to give various interested groups and individuals, as well as Canadians in general, a final opportunity to review and comment. Comments received from interested parties by September 13, 2012 may result in changes to the proposed regulatory amendments. It is anticipated that the final amendments will be published in the Canada Gazette, Part II this winter.

The proposed amendments would require the price of an air service represented in any advertisement to:

• be the total price, inclusive of all taxes, fees and charges that a customer must pay to obtain and complete the air service.
• include a minimum level of description of the air service offered, including:
• origin and destination;
• whether the service is one way or round trip;
• limitations with respect to booking or travel availability periods; and
• provide the customer with access to a breakdown of the taxes, fees and charges which are paid to a third party (e.g. GST/HST, departure taxes, airport fees, security fees).

The proposed amendments would also require that consumers have access to a listing of any optional services offered by the service provider for a fee or charge, and that the price of each service be displayed using an all-inclusive price format.

How to Comment

To comment on the proposed regulatory amendments, consult the Canada Gazette. For more information and to view reference documents, please visit the Agency's consultation website on the proposed amendments for air services price advertising.

About the Canadian Transportation Agency

The Canadian Transportation Agency is an independent, quasi-judicial tribunal and economic regulator of the Government of Canada. It makes decisions and determinations on a wide range of matters involving air, rail and marine modes of transportation under the authority of Parliament, as set out in the Canada Transportation Act and other legislation.

The Agency's mandate includes:

• Economic regulation, to provide approvals, issue licences, permits and certificates of fitness, and make decisions on a wide range of matters involving federal air, rail and marine transportation.
• Dispute resolution, to resolve complaints about federal transportation services, rates, fees and charges.
• Accessibility, to ensure Canada's national transportation system is accessible to all persons, particularly those with disabilities.

SOURCE: Canadian Transportation Agency

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