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Canada

Aviation

Amendments to the Canada Transportation Act have provided the governor in council, effectively the federal Cabinet, with the flexibility to increase the foreign ownership limit on Canadian carriers from the existing level of 25% to a maximum level of 49%. It is suggested that the impetus for these amendments was specific recommendations made by the Competition Policy Review Panel in connection with the air transport sector.

The protection of consumers and air passenger rights continue to be hotly debated in Canada. This update provides a summary of proposed federal legislation, which is contained in Bill C-310 - An Act to Provide Certain Rights to Air Passengers. If passed, the law would apply to air carriers that operate a domestic service or an international service, including international charters.

A motion calling for a bill of rights modelled on the EU Air Passenger Bill of Rights recently received unanimous support in the House of Commons. Advocates for the Canadian Air Passenger Bill of Rights contend that legislation and regulations should be implemented to enhance consumer protection and force air carriers to compensate passengers when the services that they provide are not up to standard.

Disability discrimination legislation specifically applying to the air transport sector has been introduced in many countries. Canada’s legislation was recently tested and resulted in a landmark decision that requires certain Canadian air carriers to adopt a ‘one person, one fare’ policy for persons with a disability.

Recent amendments have been made to Canada’s insolvency laws to deal with the insolvency-related remedies provided for in the Cape Town Convention and the Aircraft Protocol. This update identifies certain technical issues with these amendments and considers how the recent legislation amending Canada’s insolvency laws attempts to address some of these issues.

On the first anniversary of Canada’s Blue Sky policy, the federal government announced the first round of negotiations for an Open Skies-type air transport agreement between Canada and the European Union. A comprehensive Open Skies-type agreement with the European Union is essential if there is to be a levelling of the competitive playing field in transatlantic air services.

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Environment

Contaminated water in a small Ontario town, which caused much illness and death, has forced the government to focus on ensuring that there is an adequate supply of safe drinking water. The tragedy in Walkerton is already having a far-reaching impact in Ontario and nationwide.

The Ontario Superior Court has considered two cases that have important implications for those dealing with contaminated land. One case provides guidance as to when parties assume the risk of dealing with contaminated lands, and the other provides that neighbouring landowners may be entitled to both remediation costs and reduction in value.

Recent cases confirm that American parent corporations may be held liable for pollution caused by their Canadian subsidiaries without the need to pierce the corporate veil; and companies must comply with both environmental statutes and occupational health and safety laws, even when the statutes seem to conflict.

The acting commissioner of the environment and sustainable development has given his report to the House of Commons regarding the government's progress in tackling key issues. The government gets poor marks for dealing with smog, climate control and other problems inherent with industrialization.

The Ontario Ministry of Labour has released revised and new occupational exposure limits for a 90-day comment period.

A number of property owners were successful in appealing property tax assessments on the basis of adverse impacts due to industrial air pollution caused by a nearby factory. The decision may have consequences in any situation where pollution is found to occur.

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