Skip to main content

Bill C-26

If you have any questions or comments regarding the accessibility of this publication, please contact us at accessible@parl.gc.ca.

PDF
Compensation

(2) If a railway company to whom subsection 146(3) applies does not resume operations in the time provided for in that subsection and does not enter into an agreement for the sale, lease or other transfer of the applicable railway line, or applicable interest in a railway line, after following the process set out in sections 143 to 145, the railway company shall, beginning on the day after the last day its offer could have been accepted under the process set out in section 145, make three annual payments to the municipality or district in which the railway line, or portion of line, as the case may be, is located, in the amount equal to $10,000 for each mile of the line or portion in the municipality or district.

List of metropolitan sidings and spurs to be dismantled

146.2 (1) A railway company shall prepare and keep up to date a list of its sidings and spurs in metropolitan areas that it plans to dismantle.

Publication of list and notification of changes

(2) The railway company shall publish the list on its Internet site, and whenever it makes a change to the list, it shall notify the following of the change within 10 days after the change:

    (a) the Minister;

    (b) the Agency;

    (c) the minister responsible for transportation matters in the government of the province in which the siding or spur that is the subject of the change is located;

    (d) the chairperson of the urban transit authority in whose territory the siding or spur that is the subject of the change is located; and

    (e) the clerk or other senior administrative officer of the municipal or district government in which the siding or spur that is the subject of the change is located.

Limitation

(3) A railway company shall not take steps to dismantle a siding or a spur until at least 12 months have elapsed since the siding or spur was added to the list.

Offer to governments

(4) Before dismantling a siding or a spur that has been on the list for at least 12 months, a railway company shall send simultaneously to each of the following an offer to transfer all of its interest in the siding or spur for not more than its net salvage value:

    (a) the Minister;

    (b) the minister responsible for transportation matters in the government of the province in which the siding or spur is located;

    (c) the chairperson of the urban transit authority in whose territory the siding or spur is located; and

    (d) the clerk or other senior administrative officer of the municipal or district government in which the siding or spur is located.

Time limits for acceptance

(5) Subject to subsection 146.3(3), after the offer is received

    (a) by the Minister, the Government of Canada may accept it within 30 days;

    (b) by the provincial minister, the government of the province may accept it within an additional 30 days after the end of the period mentioned in paragraph (a) if it is not accepted under that paragraph;

    (c) by the chairperson of an urban transit authority, that authority may accept it within an additional 30 days after the end of the periods for acceptance under paragraphs (a) and (b), if it is not accepted under those paragraphs; and

    (d) by the clerk or other senior administrative officer of a municipal or district government, that government may accept it within an additional 30 days after the end of the periods for acceptance under paragraphs (a), (b) and (c), if it is not accepted under those paragraphs.

Communicati on and notice of acceptance

(6) Once a government or an urban transit authority communicates its written acceptance of the offer to the railway company, the right of any other government or urban transit authority to accept the offer is extinguished, and the railway company shall notify the other governments and urban transit authorities of the acceptance.

Net salvage value

(7) If a government or an urban transit authority accepts the offer, but cannot agree with the railway company on the net salvage value within 90 days after the acceptance, the Agency may, on the application of the government, the urban transit authority or the railway company, determine the net salvage value.

Dismantling permitted

(8) If the offer is not accepted, the railway company may dismantle the siding or spur on providing notice to the Agency.

Determination of net salvage value before expiry of time to accept offer

146.3 (1) A person to whom a railway line is offered under section 145, or to whom a siding or spur is offered under section 146.2, may apply to the Agency for a determination of the net salvage value of the railway line, siding or spur, as the case may be, at any time before the expiry of the period available to the person to accept the offer.

Notification of application

(2) The applicant shall without delay provide a copy of the application to the railway company, and the railway company shall without delay notify every other person to whom the offer was made and whose time to accept the offer has not expired that an application for a determination of the net salvage value was made.

Effect of application

(3) If an application is made under subsection (1), the time available to the applicant to accept the offer expires on the day that is 30 days after the day the Agency notifies the applicant of its determination of the net salvage value and the 30-day period for each other person to accept the offer is calculated on the expiry of the period available to the applicant to accept the offer.

Costs

(4) The applicant shall reimburse the Agency's costs associated with the application.

Passenger railway stations

146.4 Sections 146.2 and 146.3 apply, with any modifications that the circumstances require, to passenger railway stations in Canada that a railway company plans to sell, lease or otherwise transfer or dismantle.

52. The Act is amended by adding the following after section 151:

List of Available Sidings

List of available sidings

151.1 (1) A railway company shall prepare and keep up to date a list of the sidings that it makes available in the Western Division where railway cars that are allocated by the Canadian Grain Commission under subsection 87(2) of the Canada Grain Act can be loaded.

Publication of list

(2) The railway company shall publish the list on its Internet site.

Removal from list

(3) A railway company may remove a siding from the list only after the expiry of 60 days after the publication of a notice of its intention to do so in a newspaper of general circulation in the area where the siding is located.

53. (1) The Act is amended by adding the following after section 152:

DIVISION VI.1

PUBLIC PASSENGER SERVICE PROVIDERS

Dispute Resolution

Application

152.1 (1) Whenever a public passenger service provider and a railway company are unable to agree in respect of any matter raised in the context of the negotiation of any agreement concerning the use of the railway company's railway, land, equipment, facilities or services by the public passenger service provider or concerning the conditions, or the amount to be paid, for that use, the public passenger service provider may, after reasonable efforts to resolve the matter have been made, apply to the Agency to decide the matter.

Application

(2) Whenever a public passenger service provider and a railway company are unable to agree in respect of any matter raised in the context of the implementation of any matter previously decided by the Agency, either the public passenger service provider or the railway company may, after reasonable efforts to resolve the matter have been made, apply to the Agency to decide the matter.

Amount to be fixed

152.2 (1) If, pursuant to an application made under subsection 152.1(1), the Agency fixes the amount to be paid by the public passenger service provider for the use of any of the railway company's railway, land, equipment, facilities or services, that amount must reflect the cost associated with the public passenger service provider's use of that railway, land or equipment or those facilities or services.

Factors

(2) In determining that amount, the Agency must take into consideration, among other things,

    (a) the variable costs incurred by the railway company as a result of the public passenger service provider's use of the railway company's railway, land, equipment, facilities or services, including, but not limited to, its variable costs incurred to maintain safe operations and to avoid congestion and undue delay;

    (b) the railway company's cost of capital, based on a rate set by the Agency, applied to the net book value of the assets to be used by the public passenger service provider, less any amount to be paid by the public passenger service provider in respect of those assets;

    (c) the cost of any improvements made by railway company in relation to the public passenger service provider's use of the railway company's railway, land, equipment, facilities or services;

    (d) a reasonable contribution towards the railway company's constant costs; and

    (e) the value of any benefits that would accrue to the railway company from any investment made by the public passenger service provider.

Duration of decision

152.3 Any decision of the Agency in respect of an application made under subsection 152.1(1) is binding on the parties for a period of five years after the day on which the decision is made, or for any other period agreed to by the parties that is specified in the decision.

Agreements

Providing copies

152.4 (1) A railway company or a public passenger service provider must provide to any person who requests it

    (a) a copy of any agreement entered into on or after the day on which this section comes into force concerning the use of the railway company's railway, land, equipment, facilities or services; and

    (b) subject to subsection (2), a copy of any agreement entered into before the day on which this section comes into force concerning the use of the railway company's railway, land, equipment, facilities or services.

Exclusion

(2) The Agency may, on application by a railway company or a public passenger service provider, exclude an agreement, or any specified portion of an agreement, from the application of paragraph (1)(b) on the grounds that harm would likely result to the applicant if the agreement, or the specified portion, were to be disclosed.

Transitional

(2) Section 152.1 of the Act, as enacted by subsection (1), does not apply in respect of agreements entered into before the day on which this section comes into force.

54. Section 158 of the Act and the heading before it are repealed.

55. Section 160 of the Act is replaced by the following:

Passenger rail services

160. Sections 161 to 169 also apply, with such modifications as the circumstances require, in respect of the rates charged or proposed to be charged by, and in respect of any of the conditions associated with the provision of services by, a railway company to any other railway company that is engaged in passenger rail services, other than a public passenger service provider .

2000, c. 16, s. 11(1)

56. Subsection 161(1) of the Act is replaced by the following:

Submission for final offer arbitration

161. (1) A shipper who is dissatisfied with the charge or rate charged or proposed to be charged by a carrier for the movement of goods or for any incidental services , or with any term or condition associated with the movement of goods or any incidental services , may, if the matter cannot be resolved between the shipper and the carrier, submit the matter in writing to the Agency for a final offer arbitration to be conducted by one arbitrator or, if the shipper and the carrier agree, by a panel of three arbitrators.

2000, c. 16, s. 15

57. The portion of section 164.1 of the Act before paragraph (a) is replaced by the following:

Summary process

164.1 If the Agency determines that a shipper's final offer submitted under subsection 161.1(1) involves freight charges in an amount of not more than $750,000 and the shipper did not indicate a contrary intention when submitting the offer, section 163 and subsection 164(1) do not apply, and the arbitration is to proceed as follows:

58. The Act is amended by adding the following after section 169:

Joint offer of several shippers

169.1 (1) Sections 161 to 169 apply, with any modifications that the circumstances require, in the case where more than one shipper is dissatisfied with any charge or rate charged or proposed to be charged by a carrier for the movement of goods or for any incidental services, or with any term or condition associated with the movement of goods or any incidental services.

Common matter and equal application of the offer

(2) The matter submitted to the Agency for a final offer arbitration must be common to all the shippers, they must make a joint offer in respect of the matter and the terms of that offer must apply to all of them equally.

Extension of time for making decision

(3) Despite paragraph 165(2)(b), in the case of a matter submitted to the Agency by more than one shipper, the arbitrator may, if he or she considers it necessary, extend the periods referred to in that paragraph by an additional period of up to 60 days.

Other persons

169.2 (1) Sections 161 to 169 apply, with any modifications that the circumstances require, in the case of a person, other than a shipper, or a group of such persons, who is or are subject to a charge or rate charged or proposed to be charged by a carrier for the movement of goods or for any incidental services, or with any term or condition associated with the movement of goods or any incidental services.

Common matter and equal application of the offer

(2) In the case of a group of persons referred to in subsection (1), the matter submitted to the Agency for a final offer arbitration must be common to all of them, the group must make a joint offer in respect of the matter and the terms of that offer must apply to all members of the group equally.

Extension of time for making decision

(3) Despite paragraph 165(2)(b), in the case of a matter submitted to the Agency by a group of persons under subsection (1), the arbitrator may, if he or she considers it necessary, extend the periods referred to in that paragraph by an additional period of up to 60 days.

59. The Act is amended by adding the following after section 172: