Key Accomplishments

In its 2008-11 Strategic Plan, the Agency identified five priorities for action. What follows is a brief summary of key accomplishments regarding each of these five priorities in 2009-10.

Effective dispute resolution and industry regulation

• Met or continued to make progress in meeting the targets set out in the Agency's Performance Framework;
• Complied with Ministerial Directives related to a Canada-U.S. dispute involving professional sports team air charters, one of which called for an investigation into the carriage of passengers by U.S. carriers solely between Canadian cities;
• Supported the negotiation of important bilateral air transport treaties;
• Accepted tariff filings from Air Canada, Jazz, WestJet and Air Transat reflecting commitments made by these airlines as part of the Government of Canada's "Flight Rights" initiative;
• Encouraged Canadian air carriers to put their tariffs into plain language, helping Canadians make informed decisions about their travel arrangements;
• Made a determination stating that the rail link to Toronto's Lester B. Pearson Airport proposed by the Union-Pearson AirLink Group is not under federal jurisdiction;
• Launched initiatives to update a number of regulatory frameworks administered by the Agency, on matters such as marine coasting trade, railway interswitching, cost of capital methodology, and airline foreign ownership limits; and
• Announced that the revenues of the Canadian National Railway Company for the movement of Western grain had exceeded its revenue cap for crop year 2008-2009, while those of the Canadian Pacific Railway Company for the same period were below its cap.

A more accessible transportation network

• Released guides to assist air carriers in implementing provisions of the Code of Practice: Aircraft Accessibility for Persons with Disabilities related to space for service dogs and tactile row markers;
• Made significant progress in resolving disputes related to the appropriate accommodation of air travellers disabled as a result of their allergies;
• Became one of the first federal government bodies to make publications available for download in DAISY format – a digital talking book that makes print publications accessible to persons who are blind or have a visual impairment; and
• Launched innovative accessible electronic formats of Take Charge of Your Travel, a popular Agency publication that helps persons with disabilities plan their trips from start to finish.

Enhanced internal and external relations

• Published a number of publications to assist Canadians in resolving transportation-related disputes, such as Rail Noise and Vibration Complaints: Working together towards solutions;
• Began implementing a client satisfaction survey framework and collecting benchmarking data on client satisfaction; and
• Initiated a number of consultations with stakeholders and clients within the federal transportation network in order to better serve Canadian consumers and transportation providers.

The Agency's people as its greatest asset

• Engaged in an extensive consultation process with staff and management on sustaining a respectful workplace and began developing action plans to ensure that the Agency remains a workplace of choice;
• Continued to implement knowledge transfer projects, student recruitment initiatives and developmental opportunities for staff; and
• Developed new competency profiles and learning roadmaps for each employee level.

Organizational support and responsiveness

• Addressed a number of dispute case processing issues and implemented process improvements and new practices that promote increased productivity, efficiency and consistent quality; and
• Adopted a revised Case Management Policy that will support better tracking of the progress of case files, increasing work efficiency and promoting best practices.