On May 7 the Minister of Transport announced the appointment of Ms. France Pégeot as the chair of the Canadian Transportation Agency, effective June 1, 2021.

The five-year term of the current chair, Scott Streiner, finishes at the end of May.

The Agency is the independent regulatory body that administers the provisions of a number of transportation laws including the Canada Transportation Act (CTA). This is the law that governs the commercial aspects of airlines, railways, and some aspects of marine transportation.

The CTA, and the Agency are important to the shipper community in adjudicating disputes with carriers. With only two significant rail carriers, and growing consolidation in the ocean shipping industry, it is vital that shippers have access to an independent administrative tribunal to address the imbalance in the bargaining power between buyers and sellers in the rail and ocean shipping markets.

FMA maintains contact with the Agency Members and officials and will arrange to meet with Ms. Pégeot in the near future. We note that FMA can arrange for informal meetings for members with Agency officials if there are specific issues that they wish to explore.

The Transport Canada news release on the appointment of Ms. Pégeot can be found at the link below.