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MINUTES OF PROCEEDINGS

Meeting No. 66

Tuesday, April 16, 2013

The Standing Committee on Transport, Infrastructure and Communities met at 3:43 p.m. this day, in Room 228, La Promenade Building, the Chair, Larry Miller, presiding.

Members of the Committee present: Mark Adler, Robert Aubin, Joe Daniel, Larry Miller, Pierre Poilievre, Mike Sullivan, Lawrence Toet and Jeff Watson.

Acting Members present: Dan Albas for Ed Holder, Hon. Ralph Goodale for Hon. Denis Coderre, Carol Hughes for Olivia Chow and Francine Raynault for Isabelle Morin.

In attendance: Library of Parliament: Alexandre Lavoie, Analyst . House of Commons: Mike MacPherson, Legislative Clerk.

Witnesses: Department of Transport: Annette Gibbons, Director General, Surface Transportation Policy; Carolyn Crook, Director, Rail Policy; Alain Langlois, Senior Legal Counsel, Team Leader Modal Transportation Law.

Pursuant to the Order of Reference of Friday, February 8, 2013, the Committee resumed consideration of Bill C-52, An Act to amend the Canada Transportation Act (administration, air and railway transportation and arbitration).

The Committee commenced its clause-by-clause study of the Bill.

Annette Gibbons and Alain Langlois answered questions.

Pursuant to Standing Order 75(1), consideration of Clause 1, Short Title, was postponed.

The Chair called Clause 2.

Clause 2 carried.

Clause 3 carried.

Clause 4 carried.

Clause 5 carried.

Clause 6 carried.

Clause 7 carried.

On Clause 8,

Ralph Goodale moved, — That Bill C-52, in Clause 8, be amended by adding after line 20 on page 4 the following:

“(1.6) For the purposes of this Division and without restricting the generality of the term, “service obligations” includes obligations in respect of

(a) the timeliness and frequency of the receiving and the delivery of traffic by the railway company;

(b) dwell times, estimated times of arrival, transit times and cycle times regarding the carriage of traffic;

(d) the furnishing of adequate and suitable accommodation for the carriage, unloading and delivering of the traffic;

(e) accommodation and facilities for the exchange of information regarding the billing, receiving, carriage and delivery of traffic; and

(f) car order fulfillment, car spotting performance and car placement at destination.

(1.7) For greater certainty, a railway company shall be considered to have fulfilled the service obligations referred to in paragraph (1.6)(d) if it has carried them out in a manner that meets the rail transportation needs of the shipper.”

The question was put on the amendment of Ralph Goodale and it was negatived, by a show of hands: YEAS: 5; NAYS: 6.

Clause 8 carried.

Clause 9 carried.

Clause 10 carried.

On Clause 11,

Robert Aubin moved, — That Bill C-52, in Clause 11, be amended by adding before line 1 on page 5 the following:

“169.301 For the purposes of this Division and without restricting the generality of the term, “service obligations” includes obligations in respect of

(a) the timeliness and frequency of the receiving and the delivery of traffic by the railway company;

(b) dwell times, estimated times of arrival, transit times and cycle times regarding the carriage of traffic;

(d) the furnishing of adequate and suitable accommodation for the carriage, unloading and delivering of the traffic;

(e) accommodation and facilities for the exchange of information regarding the billing, receiving, carriage and delivery of traffic; and

(f) car order fulfillment, car spotting performance and car placement at destination.

(2) For greater certainty, a railway company shall be considered to have fulfilled the service obligations referred to in paragraph (1)(d) if it has carried them out in a manner that meets the rail transportation needs of the shipper.”

After debate, the question was put on the amendment of Robert Aubin and it was negatived, by a show of hands: YEAS: 5; NAYS: 6.

The Chair ruled that the following three (3) amendments were consequential to the previous amendment and therefore they were also negatived:

That Bill C-52, in Clause 11, be amended by replacing line 28 on page 6 with the following:

“company with respect to a term”

That Bill C-52, in Clause 11, be amended by replacing line 24 on page 7 with the following:

“(a) any term described in para-”

That Bill C-52, in Clause 11, be amended by replacing line 38 on page 8 with the following:

“lish any term described in paragraph”

Robert Aubin moved, — That Bill C-52, in Clause 11, be amended

(a) by replacing line 9 on page 5 with the following:

“(a) the terms that the railway”

(b) by replacing lines 14 to 16 on page 5 with the following:

“(b) the terms that the railway company must comply with if it fails to comply with a term described in”

“(c) any term that the shipper must comply with that is related to a term described in paragraph (a)”

(d) by replacing line 28 on page 5 with the following:

“to a term described in paragraph”

After debate, the question was put on the amendment of Robert Aubin and it was negatived on the following recorded division: YEAS: Robert Aubin, Ralph Goodale, Carol Hughes, Francine Raynault, Mike Sullivan — 5; NAYS: Mark Adler, Dan Albas, Joe Daniel, Pierre Poilievre, Lawrence Toet, Jeff Watson — 6.

Robert Aubin moved, — That Bill C-52, in Clause 11, be amended by replacing line 17 on page 5 with the following:

“paragraph (a), including terms governing the determination of whether or not a service failure has occurred and the manner in which damages are to be assessed and paid to the shipper for losses resulting from any such failure;”

Mike Sullivan moved, — That Bill C-52, in Clause 11, be amended by replacing lines 29 and 30 on page 5 with the following:

“(a) or (b), for a service described in paragraph (d) or in respect of a matter that is a service obligation of the railway company.”

The question was put on the amendment of Mike Sullivan and it was negatived on the following recorded division: YEAS: Robert Aubin, Ralph Goodale, Carol Hughes, Francine Raynault, Mike Sullivan — 5; NAYS: Mark Adler, Dan Albas, Joe Daniel, Pierre Poilievre, Lawrence Toet, Jeff Watson — 6.

Ralph Goodale moved, — That Bill C-52, in Clause 11, be amended by adding after line 41 on page 6 the following:

“169.321 If a railway company intends to present evidence to the arbitrator in respect of any of the matters described in paragraph 169.37(d), (e) or (f), it must

(a) no later than five days before the day on which it submits a proposal under subsection 169.34(1), notify the shipper and the arbitrator in writing of this intention; and

(b) no later than the day on which it submits the proposal, inform the shipper and the arbitrator in writing of the evidence that it intends to present.”

The question was put on the amendment of Ralph Goodale and it was negatived on the following recorded division: YEAS: Robert Aubin, Ralph Goodale, Carol Hughes, Francine Raynault, Mike Sullivan — 5; NAYS: Mark Adler, Dan Albas, Joe Daniel, Pierre Poilievre, Lawrence Toet, Jeff Watson — 6.

Robert Aubin moved, — That Bill C-52, in Clause 11, be amended by replacing line 45 on page 8 to line 1 on page 9 with the following:

“resolve the matters submitted by the shipper to the Agency for arbitration. In making his or her”

Robert Aubin moved, — That Bill C-52, in Clause 11, be amended by deleting lines 11 to 19 on page 9.

The question was put on the amendment of Robert Aubin and it was negatived on the following recorded division: YEAS: Robert Aubin, Ralph Goodale, Carol Hughes, Francine Raynault, Mike Sullivan — 5; NAYS: Mark Adler, Dan Albas, Joe Daniel, Pierre Poilievre, Lawrence Toet, Jeff Watson — 6.

Ralph Goodale moved, — That Bill C-52, in Clause 11, be amended by adding after line 26 on page 9 the following:

“169.371 If the arbitrator’s decision establishes a term with respect to the application of a charge described in paragraph 169.31(1)(e), the Agency may, on application by the shipper, reduce the amount of the charge if the Agency determines that it is unreasonable.”

Clause 11 carried.

Clause 12 carried.

Clause 13 carried.

Clause 14 carried.

Clause 1, Short Title, carried.

After debate, the Title carried

The Bill carried.

ORDERED, — That the Chair report the Bill to the House.

At 4:35 p.m., the Committee adjourned to the call of the Chair.

Jean-François Pagé
Clerk of the Committee

2013/07/18 10:46 a.m.