Proceedings of the Standing Senate Committee on
Transport and Communications
Issue 18 - Minutes of Proceedings - June 12, 2013
OTTAWA, Wednesday, June 12, 2013
(56)
[English]
The Standing Senate Committee on Transport and Communications met this day at 6:47 p.m., in room 2, Victoria Building, the chair, the Honourable Dennis Dawson, presiding.
Members of the committee present: The Honourable Senators Boisvenu, Dawson, Doyle, Eggleton, P.C., Greene, Housakos, MacDonald, Mercer, Unger and Verner, P.C. (10).
In attendance: Alexandre Lavoie, Analyst, Parliamentary Information and Research Service, Library of Parliament.
Also in attendance: The official reporters of the Senate.
Pursuant to the order of reference adopted by the Senate on Wednesday, June 5, 2013, the committee continued its consideration of Bill C-52, An Act to amend the Transportation Act (administration, air and railway transportation and arbitration).
WITNESSES:
Coalition of Rail Shippers:
Robert Ballantyne, Chairman of the Board; President, Canadian Industrial Transportation Association.
Railway Association of Canada:
Michael Bourque, President and Chief Executive Officer.
Canadian Pacific Railway:
Michael Murphy, Vice-President, Government Affairs.
Canadian National Railway Company:
Sean Finn, Executive Vice-President, Corporate Services and Chief Legal Officer.
The chair made an opening statement.
Mr. Ballantyne made a statement and answered questions.
At 7:14 p.m., the committee suspended.
At 7:18 p.m., the committee resumed.
Mr. Bourque, Mr. Finn and Mr. Murphy each made a statement and answered questions.
At 8:17 p.m., the committee suspended.
At 8:28 p.m., the committee resumed.
After debate, it was agreed that the committee proceed to clause-by-clause consideration of Bill C-52, An Act to amend the Transportation Act (administration, air and railway transportation and arbitration), on division.
It was agreed that the title stand postponed.
It was agreed that clause 1, which contains the short title, stand postponed.
It was agreed that clause 2 carry.
It was agreed that clause 3 carry.
It was agreed that clause 4 carry.
It was agreed that clause 5 carry.
It was agreed that clause 6 carry.
It was agreed that clause 7 carry.
The chair asked whether clause 8 shall carry.
The Honourable Senator Mercer moved:
That Bill C-52 be amended in clause 8, on page 4, by adding after line 20 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;
(c) the quantity, condition and types of rolling stock to be provided by the railway company;
(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.''.
After debate, the question being put on the motion in amendment, it was negatived on the following vote:
YEAS
The Honourable Senators
Dawson, Eggleton, Mercer — 3
NAYS
The Honourable Senators
Boisvenu, Doyle, Greene, Housakos, MacDonald, Unger, Verner — 7
It was agreed that clause 8 carry, on division.
It was agreed that clause 9 carry.
It was agreed that clause 10 carry.
The chair asked whether clause 11 shall carry.
The Honourable Senator Mercer moved:
That Bill C-52 be amended in clause 11, on page 5,
(a) by replacing line 9 with the following:
"(a) the terms that the railway'';
(b) by replacing lines 14 to 16 with the following:
"(b) the terms that the railway company must comply with if it fails to comply with a term described in'';
(c) by replacing lines 18 to 20 with the following:
"(c) any term that the shipper must comply with that is related to a term described in paragraph (a)''; and
(d) by replacing line 28 with the following:
"to a term described in paragraph''.
The question being put on the motion in amendment, it was negatived.
The committee resumed consideration of clause 11.
The Honourable Senator Mercer moved:
That Bill C-52 be amended in clause 11, on page 5, by replacing line 17 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;''.
The question being put on the motion in amendment, it was negatived.
The committee resumed consideration of clause 11.
The Honourable Senator Mercer moved:
That Bill C-52 be amended in clause 11, on page 6, by replacing line 28 with the following:
"company with respect to a term''.
The question being put on the motion in amendment, it was negatived.
The committee resumed consideration of clause 11.
The Honourable Senator Mercer moved:
That Bill C-52 be amended in clause 11, on page 6, by adding after line 41 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 being put on the motion in amendment, it was negatived.
The committee resumed consideration of clause 11.
The Honourable Senator Mercer moved:
That Bill C-52 be amended in clause 11, on page 7, by replacing line 24 with the following:
"(a) any term described in para-''.
The question being put on the motion in amendment, it was negatived.
The committee resumed consideration of clause 11.
The Honourable Senator Mercer moved:
That Bill C-52 be amended in clause 11, on page 8, by replacing line 38 with the following:
"lish any term described in paragraph''.
The question being put on the motion in amendment, it was negatived.
The committee resumed consideration of clause 11.
The Honourable Senator Mercer moved:
That Bill C-52 be amended in clause 11,
(a) on page 8, by replacing line 45 with the following:
"resolve the matters submitted by the shipper to the Agency''; and
(b) on page 9, by replacing line 1 with the following:
"for arbitration. In making his or her''.
The question being put on the motion in amendment, it was negatived.
The committee resumed consideration of clause 11.
The Honourable Senator Mercer moved:
That Bill C-52 be amended in clause 11, on page 9,
(a) by deleting lines 11 to 19; and
(b) by relettering paragraphs 169.37(g) and (h) as paragraphs 169.37(d) and (e) and any cross-references thereto accordingly.
The question being put on the motion in amendment, it was negatived.
The committee resumed consideration of clause 11.
The Honourable Senator Mercer moved:
That Bill C-52 be amended in clause 11, on page 9, by adding after line 26 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.''.
The question being put on the motion in amendment, it was negatived.
It was agreed that clause 11 carry.
It was agreed that clause 12 carry.
It was agreed that clause 13 carry.
It was agreed that clause 14 carry.
It was agreed that clause 1, which contains the short title, carry.
It was agreed that the title carry.
It was agreed that the bill carry, on division.
It was agreed that the chair report the bill to the Senate, on division.
At 8:51 p.m., the committee adjourned to the call of the chair.
ATTEST:
Keli Hogan
Clerk of the Committee