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The Transportation Appeal Tribunal of Canada (the TATC) is scheduled to start operations on
June 30, 2003.
The TATC is a multi-modal tribunal, which provides a recourse mechanism to the air, rail and marine sectors with respect to certain administrative actions taken by the Minister of Transport under various pieces of federal transportation legislation. The TATC will hold review and appeal hearings at the request of persons affected by these administrative decisions.
For federally regulated railways in Canada this means that a request for a review hearing will be available where a Notice and Order is issued under section 31, or a Ministerial Order is issued under section 32 of the
Railway Safety
Act. The TATC review mechanism replaces section 31 (9) of the Railway Safety
Act, which currently provides for the Minister to review a railway safety inspector’s order.
The TATC will be independent of the department, though it will report to Parliament through the Minister. Members of the tribunal will be selected and appointed by the Governor in Council on the basis of their specific transportation knowledge and experience. Only members with rail expertise will conduct rail review hearings. With the exception of the chair and vice-chair, only members with rail expertise will conduct rail appeal hearings.
Anyone who receives a section 31 Notice and Order or a section 32 Ministerial Order may initiate a review by contacting the Tribunal within 30 days of receipt.
A general reference document, "The Guide To Tribunal Hearings" may be obtained by contacting the tribunal at:
The Registrar
Transportation Appeal Tribunal of Canada
333 Laurier Avenue West, Room 1201
Ottawa, Ontario, K1A 0N5
http://www.cat-tac.gc.ca
Note: The TATC will replace the current Civil Aviation Tribunal (CAT) which will continue to exist at this address until such time as the TATC is brought into force. At that time the CAT will no longer exist.
A Notice and Order is not stayed by the request for review, therefore, the railway must continue to follow the requirements as set out in the Notice and Order. However, railways may continue to communicate with the department after initiating a review to try to settle the issue in dispute.
Should a railway wish, a three-member TATC panel, though not the member who conducted the original review hearing, will hear appeals of the review decision.
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