This document was
prepared by the staff of the Parliamentary Research Branch to provide Canadian
Parliamentarians with plain language background and analysis of proposed government
legislation. Legislative summaries are not government documents. They have no official
legal status and do not constitute legal advice or opinion. Please note, the Legislative
Summary describes the bill as of the date shown at the beginning of the document. For the
latest published version of the bill, please consult the parliamentary internet site at www.parl.gc.ca.
LS-357E
BILL C-28: AN ACT TO AMEND THE MOTOR VEHICLE
TRANSPORT ACT, 1987 AND TO MAKE CONSEQUENTIAL
AMENDMENTS TO OTHER ACTS
Prepared by:
David Johansen
Law and Government Division
20 March 2000
LEGISLATIVE HISTORY OF BILL C-28
HOUSE OF COMMONS |
SENATE |
Bill Stage |
Date |
Bill Stage |
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First Reading: |
2 March 2000 |
First Reading: |
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Second Reading: |
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Second Reading: |
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Committee Report: |
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Committee Report: |
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Report Stage: |
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Report Stage: |
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Third Reading: |
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Third Reading: |
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Royal Assent:
Statutes of Canada
N.B. Any substantive changes in this Legislative Summary which have
been made since the preceding issue are indicated in bold print.
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
BACKGROUND
ANALYSIS
A. General
B. Objectives
C. Bus Transport
D. Extra-provincial Motor Carrier Safety
E. Exemptions, Regulations,
Enforcement, and Offence and Punishment
F. Transitional Provisions
G. Review of Provisions
H. Consequential Amendments
I. Coming into Force
COMMENTARY
BILL C-28: AN ACT TO AMEND THE
MOTOR VEHICLE TRANSPORT ACT,
1987 AND TO MAKE CONSEQUENTIAL AMENDMENTS TO OTHER ACTS
BACKGROUND
On 2 March 2000, Bill C-28, an
Act to amend the Motor Vehicle Transport Act, 1987 and to make consequential amendments to
other Acts, was introduced in the House of Commons by the Hon. Allan Rock on behalf of the
Minister of Transport, the Hon. David Collenette.
The Motor Vehicle Transport
Act, 1987 (MVTA) applies to extra-provincial motor carrier (truck and bus)
undertakings. These are domestic or foreign motor carriers that operate across provincial
or international boundaries. The federal government has the constitutional responsibility
for regulating such motor carriers, but the MVTA delegates to the provinces the authority
to regulate them.
Amendments to the Act in 1987
made the exercise of provincial regulation (licensing) of extra-provincial trucking
conditional on the application of federally prescribed fitness (safety and insurance)
standards, and the elimination of most economic controls. The amendments also established
federal authority to regulate the safe operation of extra-provincial motor carriers.
The MVTA currently consists of
the following four major components:
- Section 3 - concerning safety - allows federal
regulation of the safe operation of extra-provincial motor carrier undertakings;
- Part I (sections 4-6) - concerning bus transport -
allows provinces to regulate extra-provincial bus undertakings using their own
rules;
- Part II (sections 7-10) - concerning trucking -
allows provinces to regulate extra-provincial truck undertakings using their own
rules, provided that they allow all carriers that meet federally prescribed fitness
criteria (safety and insurance aspects) to operate; and
- Part III (sections 11-15) - concerning
intra-provincial trucking - allows provinces to regulate the intra-provincial operation of
extra-provincial truck undertakings using their own rules.
Other components of the current
Act cover enforcement and consequential amendments to other legislation.
According to Transport
Canadas Position Paper entitled Review of the Motor Vehicle Transport Act
(February 1998), the environment in which Canadian motor carriers operate has changed
considerably since 1988. Deregulation ushered in an era in which governments focused on
the safety performance of motor carriers. Canadian regulatory policy since 1988 has been
driven in part by national and international trade initiatives which sought to remove
obstacles to trade in transportation services. Both the North American Free Trade
Agreement (NAFTA) and the Agreement on Internal Trade include commitments to harmonize
standards and remove barriers in the motor carrier sector. Within Canada, the Agreement on
Internal Trade process also provided an impetus for examining the highly regulated bus
sector through a government/industry task force.
According to the departmental
Position Paper, government and industry recognize that a consistent regime for motor
carrier safety must be based on recognized standards. Since 1988, the federal and
provincial governments have supported the development and implementation of Canadian
standards through the National Safety Code for Motor Carriers (NSC), which sets
comprehensive standards for commercial vehicle operations. Those standards are developed
by committees made up of federal, provincial, territorial, industry and public interest
representatives that report to government through the Canadian Council of Motor Transport
Administrators. The NSC standards have been agreed on and are largely implemented by the
provincial and territorial governments, albeit with some differences. The proposed changes
to the MVTA set out in Bill C-28 are intended to support consistent application of the
regulatory regime that has evolved across jurisdictions.
In announcing the proposed
amendments, Mr. Collenette stated, "These amendments establish carrier safety as the
primary focus of the federal regulation of motor carriers and create the tools for
ensuring national consistency in safety performance regulation. Specifically, the
revisions use new National Safety Code standards as the basis for creating a national
safety rating system measured by actual on-road performance."
Building on the reforms
introduced in 1987, the proposed amendments would modernize and streamline the regulation
of extra-provincial motor carrier (truck and bus) undertakings in Canada. Among other
things, they would:
- create a national regulatory framework for
provincial administration of a safety regime for extra-provincial motor carriers, based on
national safety standards embodied in the National Safety Code for Motor Carriers (in
particular, Standard 14, entitled Compliance Review - Safety Ratings);
- provide for national policy direction supporting
the implementation of that framework; and
- ensure that Canada had the tools to harmonize
motor carrier regulatory standards internationally by establishing mechanisms with various
countries for the reciprocal recognition of motor carrier standards, ratings, and safety
performance assessments.
In a news release, Mr. Collenette
stated, "The amendments Im introducing meet the Government of Canadas
objectives to promote safety, modernize transportation regulation, reduce the regulatory
burden on industry, and help improve industry efficiency and productivity."
ANALYSIS
A. General
Clauses 1 to 8 of the bill would
amend the Motor Vehicle Transport Act, 1987, while clauses 9 to 11 would make
consequential amendments to three other Acts and clause 12 concerns the coming into force
of provisions of the bill.
Clause 1 would amend section 1 of
the Motor Vehicle Transport Act, 1987 to change the Acts name to the Motor
Vehicle Transport Act.
Clause 2 would repeal certain
definitions in section 2(1) of the Act, including the definitions of a "local truck
undertaking" and a "provincial transport board." It would add two new
definitions that are relevant to the bill: an "extra-provincial motor carrier
undertaking" would mean an extra-provincial bus undertaking or an extra-provincial
truck undertaking, both of which are defined in the current Act; and a "provincial
authority" would mean a person or body that had, under the law of a province,
authority to control or regulate motor carrier undertakings operating exclusively in the
province.
B. Objectives
Clause 3 would replace section 3
of the Act and the heading before it with proposed sections 3 to 3.2.
The current Act does not
specifically address overall transportation policy. Proposed section 3(1) would set out
the objectives of the Act, which would be to ensure that the National Transportation
Policy set out in section 5 of the Canada Transportation Act was carried out with
respect to extra-provincial motor carrier undertakings; that the regulatory regime for
those undertakings was focused on safety performance assessments based on the National
Safety Code for Motor Carriers; and that the operating standards that applied to those
undertakings were applied consistently across Canada. According to proposed section 3(2),
the Governor in Council could, on the recommendation of the Minister after consultation
with the provinces, issue transportation policy statements consistent with the objectives
set out in proposed section 3(1). Proposed section 3(3) stipulates that, with respect to
extra-provincial motor carrier undertakings, provincial authorities would be required to
have regard to all transportation policy statements issued under proposed section 3(2).
The Minister could conduct any
research, studies and evaluations that he or she considered necessary to carry out the
objectives of the Act (proposed section 3.1).
The Minister could, after
consultation with the provinces and on the terms and conditions that he or she specified,
enter into agreements with provincial governments or other persons or bodies in support of
the objectives set out in new section 3 (proposed section 3.2(1)). In addition, after such
consultation the Minister could enter into arrangements with foreign states to promote the
objectives of the Act, including the recognition by Canada of documents analogous to
safety fitness certificates issued by those states and the recognition by those states of
safety fitness certificates issued in Canada (proposed section 3.2(2)). According to the
departmental backgrounder on the proposed amendments to the MVTA, this reciprocal
recognition of standards and ratings would promote a more efficient and productive
movement of goods and support the international harmonization objective of NAFTA.
C. Bus Transport
The current sections 4 to 6 of
the Act fall under the headings "Part I, Bus Transport." Clause 4 would replace
those headings with the heading "Bus Transport," since the Act would no longer
be broken into parts. Accordingly, proposed section 4 (under clause 4) would refer to
a licence issued under the authority of the Act, rather than Part I of the Act.
Clause 5 would amend sections 5
and 6 to refer to a "provincial authority" rather than a "provincial
transport board," the phrase used in the current sections 5 and 6.
D. Extra-provincial Motor Carrier Safety
Clause 5 would also replace
current sections 7 to 10 with proposed sections 7 to 10.
In effect, proposed amendments to
the MVTA would allow provinces and territories whose safety compliance regimes were
compatible with the NSC standards to give an extra-provincial motor carrier (truck or bus)
a safety rating, and to issue it with a safety fitness certificate that would be
recognized by other Canadian jurisdictions. In the case of extra-provincial carriers that
had poor safety performances, proposed amendments would also allow a province or
territory, under the authority of the Act, to apply sanctions, including downgrading the
ratings of such carriers and revoking their safety fitness certificates and thus their
right to operate.
According to proposed section
7(1), no person or body could operate an extra-provincial motor carrier (truck or bus)
undertaking without holding a safety fitness certificate issued by a provincial authority
under the Motor Vehicle Transport Act or an analogous document recognized in Canada
pursuant to proposed section 3.2(2). A safety fitness certificate would not have to be in
any particular form (proposed section 7(2)). Laws of a province respecting the safety of
motor carrier undertakings would apply to an extra-provincial motor carrier undertaking to
the extent that those laws were not inconsistent with the Motor Vehicle Transport Act
(proposed section 7(3)).
Each provincial authority could,
subject to the regulations, issue a safety fitness certificate allowing a person or body
to operate an extra-provincial motor carrier undertaking and could revoke any certificate
so issued (proposed section 8(1)). Such a certificate would be valid throughout Canada
(proposed section 8(2)). The provincial authority that reviewed decisions to issue or
revoke safety fitness certificates could establish any rules or procedures that would
apply in that regard. In the absence of such rules or procedures, the procedures governing
reviews of decisions with respect to the granting and revocation of licences of motor
carrier undertakings in that province would apply (proposed section 8(3)).
If the Minister, after
consultation with the provinces, was satisfied that the provincial authority in a province
was not issuing safety fitness certificates in accordance with the Act, he or she could,
by order, withdraw the provinces power to issue such certificates (proposed section
9(1)), as of the date of the publication of the order in the Canada Gazette (proposed
section 9(2)). An extra-provincial motor carrier undertaking that held a safety fitness
certificate issued by a provincial authority that had in this way lost its power to issue
certificates would, not later than 60 days after publication of the order, be required to
file a declaration with another provincial authority that the undertaking was subject to
supervision by it (proposed section 9(3)).
According to proposed section 10,
if the Minister was satisfied that a provincial authority that had lost its power to issue
safety fitness certificates under proposed section 9 had remedied its default and
established a plan to ensure that it did not recur, he or she would, by order, be required
to revoke an order made under proposed section 9(1).
E. Exemptions, Regulations, Enforcement,
and Offence and Punishment
Clause 6 would replace the
current section 16 of the Act and add a new section 16.1.
Proposed section 16(1) would
provide that the Minister could, after consultation with any affected provinces, exempt
from the operation of the Act or of any its provisions, either generally or for a limited
period, or in respect of a limited area, any person, or the whole or any part of any
extra-provincial motor carrier undertaking or any class of those undertakings, provided
the Minister believed the exemption would be in the public interest and would not be
likely to affect motor carrier safety. Proposed section 16(2) would provide that an
exemption under proposed section 16(1) would be subject to any terms or conditions that
the Minister might specify in it.
Proposed section 16.1(1) would
provide broad powers for the Governor in Council, on the recommendation of the Minister
after consultation with the affected provinces, to make regulations generally for purposes
of carrying out the provisions of the Act. Included among other regulation-making powers
would be those prescribing classes of extra-provincial motor carrier undertakings for
purposes of the Act; respecting the criteria according to which provincial authorities
could issue safety fitness certificates under proposed section 8; and prescribing the
type, amount and conditions of insurance and bonding coverage that an extra-provincial
motor carrier undertaking would have to hold. A regulation made under proposed section
16.1(1) could incorporate by reference: a) a standard relating to the safe operation of a
motor carrier undertaking; and 2) the law of a province relating to motor vehicle
undertakings (proposed section 16.1(2)).
Clause 7 of the bill would
replace the current sections 17(1) and (2) of the Act with proposed sections 17(1)to (3)
in order to conform with changes proposed in the bill. According to proposed section
17(1), if the Minister considered that the government of a foreign country had engaged in
unfair, discriminatory or restrictive practices with regard to Canadian extra-provincial
motor carrier undertakings operating in that country or between that country and Canada,
he or she, with the concurrence of the Minister of Foreign Affairs, would be required to
seek the elimination of those practices through consultations with that country. Section
17(2) would in future make reference to a "provincial authority" instead of the
"provincial transport board" and to a "safety fitness certificate"
instead of a "licence." A provincial authority to which an order applied would
be required to comply with it (proposed section 17(3)).
Clause 8 of the bill would
replace sections 22 to 35 of the Act with proposed sections 22 to 25. Proposed section 22
would now refer to a "provincial authority" rather than a "provincial
transport board," the phrase in the current section 22.
F. Transitional Provisions
The heading preceding proposed
sections 23 to 24 would read "Transitional Provisions."
According to proposed section 23,
an extra-provincial motor carrier undertaking that, on the day immediately before the
coming into force of this provision, was authorized to operate within a province, would be
deemed to hold a safety fitness certificate issued under proposed section 8.
Under proposed section 24(1),
where an application for a licence to operate an extra-provincial truck undertaking in a
province was made to a provincial transport board under current section 8, and was pending
on the day immediately before the coming into force of proposed section 24, the
application would be deemed to have been made under proposed section 8. Under proposed
section 24(2), where an application for a licence to operate an extra-provincial bus
undertaking in a province was made to a provincial transport board under current section
5, and was pending on the day immediately before the coming into force of proposed section
24, the application would be deemed to have been made under proposed sections 5 and 8.
G. Review of Provisions
After the expiry of four years
after the coming into force of proposed section 25 and before the expiry of five years,
the Minister would be required to undertake and complete a comprehensive review of the
operation and effect of the amendments to the Act in the bill and, without delay, to
prepare a report on that review (proposed section 25(1)). The report would have to be
available to the Council of Ministers responsible for Transportation and Highway Safety at
its next meeting after the reports completion (proposed section 25(2)).
H. Consequential Amendments
Clauses 9 to 11 of the bill would
make consequential amendments to the Energy Supplies Emergency Act, the Excise
Tax Act and the Canada Grain Act.
I. Coming into Force
According to clause 12, the bill,
any provision of the bill or any provision of any legislation enacted by the bill would
come into force on a day or days to be fixed by order of the Governor in Council.
COMMENTARY
The amendments to the Motor
Vehicle Transport Act, 1987 proposed in Bill C-28 were first introduced in the
House of Commons on 25 March 1999 as part of Bill C-77 (1st Session, 36th
Parliament); however, that bill did not go beyond first reading as it died on the Order
Paper with the prorogation of Parliament. Bill C-77 also included a number of apparently
controversial provisions relating to the economic deregulation of the bus industry; those
provisions have not been included in Bill C-28 and are to be examined by a parliamentary
committee. The Minister stated, "While I remain committed to addressing the bus
provisions, I believe that the important safety provisions included in the amendments [in
Bill C-28] should not be delayed while further debate takes place."
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