GATINEAU, QC, Dec. 22, 2021 /CNW/ - The Canadian Transportation Agency (CTA) today announced that the Accessible Transportation Planning and Reporting Regulations are now finalized and published in Part II of the Canada Gazette.
The Accessible Canada Act (ACA) sets out planning and reporting requirements to identify and remove barriers faced by persons with disabilities in using the federal transportation network, and prevent new barriers - in priority areas such as communication, services and equipment. The ATPRR provides important details of how to implement these requirements for transportation service providers (TSPs), including timelines for publication, the manner in which accessibility plans and progress reports must be published, and the alternate formats in which they must be provided on request.
The final regulations reflect input the CTA received from representatives of the community of persons with disabilities, the general public, and industry during extensive consultations held from December 3, 2019, to February 28, 2020.
The ATPRR apply to TSPs that operate in all modes of transportation under the CTA's jurisdiction – air, interprovincial and international passenger rail, bus, and ferry – as well as the terminals that serve them, security screening, and border screening. This includes both foreign and domestic transportation service providers.
The regulations will gradually phase in the planning and reporting requirements in order to give TSPs time to comply.
Quote
"Improving the accessibility of our transportation system increases the well-being of people with a disability and their inclusion in all spheres of society, but also makes our system more flexible and agile. These regulations will ensure that the various members of the transportation industry plan how they intend to improve the accessibility of transportation in consultation with persons with disabilities and demonstrate how this translates into concrete results."
France Pégeot, Chair and CEO of the Canadian Transportation Agency
Reference material
Summary of the Proposed Accessible Transportation Planning and Reporting Regulations
News release : Proposed Accessible Transportation Planning and Reporting Regulations now open for public review and comments
Canada Gazette : Proposed Accessible Transportation Planning and Reporting Regulations - Part I
About the CTA
The Canadian Transportation Agency is an independent, quasi-judicial tribunal and regulator that has, with respect to all matters necessary for the exercise of its jurisdiction, all the powers of a superior court. The CTA has three core mandates: helping to keep the national transportation system running efficiently and smoothly, protecting the fundamental right of persons with disabilities to accessible transportation services, and providing consumer protection for air passengers. To help advance these mandates, the CTA makes and enforces ground rules that establish the rights and responsibilities of transportation service providers and users and level the playing field among competitors, resolves disputes using a range of tools from facilitation and mediation to arbitration and adjudication, and ensures that transportation service providers and users are aware of their rights and responsibilities and how the CTA can help them.
SOURCE Canadian Transportation Agency
Media Relations, Canadian Transportation Agency, [email protected], 819-934-3448
Share this article