Transport Canada

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Not to be confused with Canadian Transportation Agency.
Transport Canada
Transports Canada
Transport Canada - Transports Canada Logo.svg
Transport Canada HQ place de ville tower C.jpg
Place de Ville Tower "C", the headquarters of Transport Canada
Department overview
Formed1935 (as Department of Transport)
TypeDepartment responsible for Transportation
JurisdictionCanada
Headquarters330 Sparks St, Ottawa, ON K1A 0N5, Canada
45°25′9.8″N 75°42′17.84″W / 45.419389°N 75.7049556°W / 45.419389; -75.7049556
Employees5,066 (4,839 Indeterminate, 89 Term > 3 months, 138 Casual)
Minister responsible
Department executive
  • Arun Thangaraj, Deputy Minister of Transport
Websitewww.tc.canada.ca

Transport Canada (French: Transports Canada) is the department within the Government of Canada responsible for developing regulations, policies and services of road, rail, marine and air transportation in Canada. It is part of the Transportation, Infrastructure and Communities (TIC) portfolio. The current Minister of Transport is Pablo Rodriguez. Transport Canada is headquartered in Ottawa, Ontario.[1]

History

The Department of Transport was created in 1935 by the government of William Lyon Mackenzie King in recognition of the changing transportation environment in Canada at the time. It merged three departments: the former Department of Railways and Canals, the Department of Marine, and the Civil Aviation Branch of the Department of National Defence (c. 1927 when it replaced the Air Board) under C. D. Howe, who would use the portfolio to rationalize the governance and provision of all forms of transportation (air, water and land). He created a National Harbours Board and Trans-Canada Air Lines. The Department of Transport Act came into force November 2, 1936.

Prior to a 1994 federal government reorganization, Transport Canada had a wide range of operational responsibilities including the Canadian Coast Guard, the Saint Lawrence Seaway, airports and seaports, as well as Via Rail and CN Rail. Significant cuts to Transport Canada at that time resulted in CN Rail being privatized, the coast guard being transferred to Fisheries and Oceans, and the seaway and various ports and airports being transferred to local operating authorities. Transport Canada emerged from this process as a department focused on policy and regulation rather than transportation operations.

In 2004, Transport Canada introduced non-passenger screening to enhance both airport and civil aviation security.

Headquarters

Transport Canada's headquarters are located in Ottawa at Place de Ville, Tower C. Transport Canada also has regional headquarters in:

Structure

  • Minister of Transport, Pablo Rodriguez[2]
    • Deputy Minister, Transport Canada, Arun Thangaraj[3]
      • Associate Deputy Minister, Dominic Rochon [4]
    • Assistant Deputy Minister, Safety and Security, Lisa Setlawke
      • Associate Assistant Deputy Minister, Safety and Security, Nicholas Robinson
    • Assistant Deputy Minister, Programs, Stephanie Hébert
    • Assistant Deputy Minister, Policy, Serge Bijimine
    • Assistant Deputy Minister, Corporate Services, Ryan Pilgrim
    • Chief Digital Officer, Raj Thuppal
    • Director General, Communications, Jacqueline Roy
    • Director General, Major Special Projects, Nathalie Nye
    • Chief Audit and Evaluation Executive, Chantal Roy
    • Departmental General Counsel, Alain Langlois
    • Regional Director General, Atlantic Region, Daniel Kumpf
    • Regional Director General, Quebec Region, Mélanie Morier
    • Regional Director General, Ontario Region, Duwayne Williams
    • Regional Director General, Prairie and Northern Region, Shari Currie
    • Assistant Deputy Minister, Pacific Region, Robert Dick[5]

Enforcement

File:TC Inspector.jpg

Transport Canada is responsible for enforcing several Canadian legislation, including the Aeronautics Act, Transportation of Dangerous Goods Act, 1992, Motor Vehicle Safety Act, Canada Transportation Act, Railway Safety Act, Canada Shipping Act, 2001, Marine Transportation Security Act amongst others. Each inspector with delegated power from the Minister of Transport receives official credentials to exercise their power, as shown on the right.[6] These inspectors are public officers identified within the Criminal Code of Canada.

Road

The Motor Vehicle Safety Act was established in 1971 in order to create safety standards for cars in Canada. The department also acts as the federal government's funding partner with provincial (and territorial) transport ministries on jointly-funded provincial transportation infrastructure projects for new highways.

TC also manage a database of traffic collisions in Canada.[7]

Recent controversies

Transport Canada has been the centre of a number of controversies in recent years. In September 2009, the CBC's Fifth Estate produced a report "Riding on Risk", which detailed alleged mismanagement and cover-ups in Transport Canada. The story was sparked by a lost memory stick which was found by a journalism student. The memory stick contained many documents showing efforts by security inspectors to enforce aviation security regulations, and the perceived failure of management to do so. The CBC report also detailed the alleged reprisals — and fear of reprisals — against whistleblowers and other employees.[8]

Several Transport Canada senior executives, including Assistant Deputy Minister, Safety and Security, Marc Grégoire, were sued in 2008 for reprisals against another whistleblower, Ian Bron.[9] who reported that the Marine Security framework was riddled with gaps.[10]

On 23 December 2013, it was revealed that a Transport Canada inspector had been dismissed for falsifying departmental reports. The identity of the guilty party was not revealed, because of a concern for his or her privacy.[11]

In September 2009, Transport Canada was alleged to have fraudulently charged expenses to the non-existent Mackenzie Valley Pipeline project.[12] This story came to light after repeated efforts by access to information expert Ken Rubin, and repeated denials by the department that the incriminating documents existed or that any impropriety had occurred.[13]

Transport Canada was criticized in 2008 for its refusal to approve electric cars manufactured in Canada.[14]

See also

The provinces and territories also have their own transportation departments, namely to deal with roads and vehicle licensing and regulations:

References

  1. ^ "Contact Us". Retrieved 10 August 2015.
  2. ^ "Organizational Chart". Transport Canada. Retrieved 1 May 2016.
  3. ^ "Our Deputy Minister". Retrieved 1 May 2016.
  4. ^ Canada, Transport (2019-01-11). "Our Associate Deputy Minister". Transport Canada. Retrieved 2023-02-24.
  5. ^ Canada, Transport (2019-12-11). "Organizational Chart". AE 15844200. Retrieved 2021-03-26.
  6. ^ "Civil Aviation Directive (CAD) No. REG-009". Tc.gc.ca. 2010-06-28. Retrieved 2011-03-24.
  7. ^ "Statistiques sur les collisions de la route au Canada: 2016". www.tc.gc.ca. Transports Canada. 5 December 2017.
  8. ^ "Riding on Risk". Cbc.ca. 2009-09-25. Retrieved 2011-03-24.
  9. ^ "No Content". Archived from the original on 1 August 2015. Retrieved 10 August 2015.
  10. ^ The Canadian Press (2008-01-23). "Marine security riddled with gaps: whistleblower". CBC.ca. Retrieved 2011-03-24.
  11. ^ "Transport Canada inspector faked safety reports". CTVNews. 23 December 2013. Retrieved 10 August 2015.
  12. ^ Canada (2009-09-13). "Transport Canada 'fictitiously' expensing millions". Toronto: Theglobeandmail.com. Retrieved 2011-03-24.
  13. ^ "Getting at Ottawa's expenses in Transport Canada". Hilltimes.com. Archived from the original on 2011-06-11. Retrieved 2011-03-24.
  14. ^ Vancouver, The (2008-07-26). "Vancouver Sun: Transport Canada rules finish off electric car". Canada.com. Archived from the original on 2009-11-23. Retrieved 2011-03-24.
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