Bill C-52 · 41th Parliament · Stephen Harper
Fair Rail Freight Service Act
An Act to amend the Canada Transportation Act (administration, air and railway transportation and arbitration)
Government bill. Became law.
- IntroducedDec. 11, 2012
- Debated in principleFeb. 8, 2013
- Studied by a committeeDone
- Passed its first chamberMay 30, 2013
- Passed the second chamberJune 20, 2013
- Became lawJune 25, 2013
Leading supporters
Ranked by the part each played: who is responsible for the bill, who carried it, and who spoke for it most.
- Stephen HarperPrime Minister
- Betty UngerSenate · Sponsor in the Senate
- Steven Fletcherexplicitly rises to support the bill and praises related government work
- Lynne YelichShe describes the legislation as important and highlights successful industry partnerships enabled by it.
- Paul CalandraDefends the government's majority mandate to pass the bill.
- Rob MerrifieldHe calls it great legislation and notes all parties indicate support.
- Dean Del MastroAgrees with holding railways accountable as the bill intends.
- Mr. Richard Harrisstates the bill contains the needed substance after listening to stakeholders
Who carries this bill
Arrows run from the person responsible to those who answer to them on this bill. The critic leads the Senate’s scrutiny and answers to no one on it.
What it set out to do
On 11 December 2012, the Minister of Transport, Infrastructure and Communities introduced Bill C-52, An Act to amend the Canada Transportation Act (administration, air and railway transportation and arbitration) (Fair Rail Freight Service Act), in the House of Commons and it was given first reading. Bill C-52 amends the Canada Transportation Act to require a railway company, on a shipper’s request, to make the shipper an offer to enter into a contract respecting the manner in which the railway company must fulfill its service obligations to the shipper. To exercise the new right to a service contract, a shipper will first have to request one from the railway. The railway will then be obligated to respond within 30 days. If an agreement cannot be reached through commercial negotiations, service arbitration would be available to a shipper to establish the terms of service. To access the remedy, a shipper would have to satisfy the Agency that an attempt was made to resolve the matter with the railway. The enactment also amends provisions related to air transportation to streamline internal processes and certain administrative provisions of that Act.
Summary by the Library of Parliament.
Where members stand
That · 2013-05-29 · Passed
What the Senate tried to change
- adds provisionsSenator MercerAdds a detailed list of service obligations that must be considered in service level agreements and arbitration, and modifies the language governing the terms an arbitrator may impose.Voted down · June 21, 2013 · Senate record
How it changed on the way
68% of the text as introduced was changed or removed by the time it became law (4,129 words introduced, 3,619 passed).
substantial changeintent mostly kept
The core obligation on railways to offer service contracts on request and the arbitration process for unresolved disputes were retained with only minor wording tweaks. Procedural hurdles were added requiring shippers to give 15 days' notice and prove prior attempts to resolve issues before accessing arbitration.
- Added mandatory 15-day advance notice and proof of prior resolution attempt before arbitration submission.
After: “(a) the shipper has not, at least 15 days before making it, served on the railway company and the Agency a written notice indicating that the shipper intends to make a submission to the Agency for arbitration; or (b) the shipper does not demonstrate, to the Agency's satisfaction, that an attempt has been made to resolve the matters contained in it.”
How precisely it is written
mixedChallenging the law: HardDisputing a charge: Moderate
The bill mixes fixed timelines, dollar caps and enumerated lists of arbitrable matters with repeated subjective phrases that hand discretion to arbitrators, the Agency and the Minister. This produces a patchwork where some obligations are clear on the page while others turn on what an official considers appropriate in the circumstances.
Open to argument
“by any other means that the Minister considers appropriate”
Leaves the method of public notice to the Minister's subjective judgment rather than an objective standard.“in the manner that he or she considers appropriate having regard to the circumstances of the matter”
Arbitrator's procedural choices rest on an open-ended reasonableness test instead of fixed rules.“that the arbitrator considers necessary to resolve the matters that are referred to him or”
Scope of the final decision is defined by the arbitrator's own view of necessity, inviting argument over what is required.
Clear-cut
“The railway company must make its offer within 30 days after the day on which it receives the request”
Hard deadline removes discretion over timing.“the amount shall not be more than $100,000”
Numerical ceiling supplies a bright-line limit on penalties.“at least 15 days before making it”
Fixed notice period creates an objective precondition for arbitration.
Discretion. Ministers, the Agency and arbitrators retain wide latitude to choose procedures, confidentiality measures, service terms and methods of publication whenever the text uses 'considers appropriate' or similar wording.
Challenging the law itself. The provisions regulate commercial rail contracts and arbitration rather than directly limiting Charter-protected expression, liberty or equality, so vagueness or overbreadth claims face a high threshold.
Disputing a charge under it. Objective timelines and dollar limits make some breaches easy to prove, but the many 'considers appropriate' clauses allow accused parties to argue that the chosen standard was not met.
Read by a language model from the royal assent text; every quoted phrase appears in the bill. A reading of the drafting, not legal advice.
Did it work?
no evaluation found
Who lobbied on it
No lobbying registration naming this bill is loaded.
Stages and dates from LEGISinfo.