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Transportation in Canada 2006 |
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7 ROAD TRANSPORTATION
MAJOR EVENTS IN 2006
LEGISLATIVE AND REGULATORY CHANGES
Motor Vehicle Transport Act (MVTA) –– Parliament passed amendments to the Act, creating a consistent national safety regime for extra-provincial truck and bus operators (motor carriers) in 2001. The provinces and territories, which directly enforce the federal regulations, subsequently took the necessary steps to implement the amended regime.
The federal government also established the Motor Carrier Safety Fitness Certificate Regulations. These provide the framework for provinces and territories to implement the safety rating regime for extra-provincial motor carriers envisaged by the MVTA amendments. The regulations are based on several of the motor carrier safety standards that make up the National Safety Code for Motor Carriers.
The amended regime came into force on January 1, 2006.
Hours of Service Regulations –– Revisions to the Federal Hours of Service Regulations for commercial drivers employed by extra-provincial truck and bus operators were published in Part II of the Canada Gazette on November 16, 2005. The revisions –– following lengthy consultations with the industry, provinces, territories and other stakeholders –– provide significantly more opportunity for drivers to rest, and will reduce the maximum daily driving hours in a 24-hour period by 19 per cent, from 16 to 13 hours.
Like the Safety Fitness Certificate Regulations, the amended hours of service rules are based on one of the National Safety Code standards, which also serves as the basis for provincial hours of service regulations.
The revised federal regulations came into force on January 1, 2007.
BILL C-3
On April 24, 2006, the Hon. Lawrence Cannon, Minister of Transport, Infrastructure and Communities, introduced Bill C-3, an Act respecting international bridges and tunnels and making a consequential amendment to another Act (short title: the International Bridges and Tunnels Act), in the House of Commons. The Bill was passed in the House on June 22, 2006 and received First Reading in the Senate the same day. The Bill received Third Reading in the Senate on December 13, 2006, and Royal Assent on February 1, 2007.
The Act:
- confirms the federal government’s exclusive jurisdiction over international bridges and tunnels;
- requires Governor in Council approval for the construction or alteration of an international bridge or tunnel;
- requires Governor in Council approval for purchasing, operating, or acquiring control of an entity that owns or operates an international bridge or tunnel;
- authorizes the Governor in Council to make regulations regarding the maintenance and repair, operation and use, and security and safety of international bridges and tunnels;
- empowers the Minister to order the owner or operator of an international bridge or tunnel to take any action that the Minister considers appropriate to ensure that it is kept in good condition;
- empowers the Minister to make emergency directions in cases of immediate threats to the security or safety of an international bridge or tunnel; and
- establishes a system of administrative monetary penalties for designated infractions of the proposed legislation.
Major Events in 2006
Other Issues of Significance
Infrastructure
Industry Structure
Passenger Transportation
Freight Transportation
Trucking Freight Transportation
Price, Productivity and Financial Performance
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