Yesterday, the International Day of Persons with Disabilities, the Canadian Transportation Agency (CTA) announced it is launching a second phase of consultations on regulatory reform in the area of accessible transportation. These consultations will focus on a number of issues.

• How to apply Accessible Transportation for Persons with Disabilities Regulations (ATPDR) provisions to small transportation providers – with adjustments to reflect their unique operating realities

• Whether or not to apply the One Person, One Fare (1p1f) requirement to international travel and to small transportation providers

• What, if anything, to require of transportation providers with respect to Emotional Support Animals and service animals other than dogs

• Planning and reporting frameworks for transportation providers, pursuant to the Accessible Canada Act, which came into force on July 11, 2019.

The CTA is interested in broad input from its Accessibility Advisory Committee, disability community organizations, the transportation industry, and members of the public.

Any interested party can consult the CTA’s consultation paper and provide written submissions by email at consultations@otc-cta.gc.ca until February 7, 2020.

All submissions will be considered public documents and will be posted on the CTA’s website unless a party asks the CTA not to release certain confidential information.

There will be an opportunity to review and comment on draft regulations before they are finalized, approved by the CTA and Cabinet, and published in Canada Gazette II. The goal is to have regulations in place by summer 2021.

Scott Streiner, chair and CEO of the Canadian Transportation Agency, said, “The first phase of ATPDR development helped advance our vision of making Canada’s national transportation system the most accessible in the world. We are now moving forward with phase II, and look forward to receiving input from a wide range of stakeholders, experts, and interested Canadians. Together, we can help ensure that the fundamental right of persons with disabilities to accessible transportation is realized in practice.”