On this International Day of Persons with Disabilities, the Canadian Transportation Agency (CTA) is launching a consultation to support the development of new accessible transportation guidelines for medium and small Transportation Service Providers (TSPs).
These new guidelines will set out what is expected of TSPs in meeting their human rights obligations to travellers with disabilities under Part V of the Canada Transportation Act. Before it begins developing the guidelines, the CTA wants to hear from persons with disabilities, TSPs, members of the public and other interested stakeholders on what should be included.
The CTA's objective is to have the new guidelines in place in 2021. The guidelines will then be used as a basis for developing binding regulations for medium and small TSPs, to be put in place in 2022.
On June 25, 2020, the CTA's new Accessible Transportation for Persons with Disabilities Regulations (ATPDR) came into force. They establish modern and legally binding accessibility requirements, for larger TSPs, with respect to services, technical standards for equipment, communications, training, and security and border screening.
Building on these regulations, the CTA launched public consultations on a second phase of the ATPDR. On November 26, 2020, the CTA released its "What We Heard" report, summarizing the input received, which highlighted the need for additional guidance with regard to medium and small TSPs.
How to submit input
