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Accessible Transportation for Persons with Disabilities Regulations (SOR/2019-244)

Regulations are current to 2024-03-06 and last amended on 2022-06-25. Previous Versions

PART 2Service Requirements Applicable to Carriers (continued)

Services (continued)

Transportation of Service Dogs

Marginal note:Duty to transport

  •  (1) A carrier must, on the request of a person with a disability who needs to travel with a service dog, accept the service dog for transport and permit the animal to accompany the person on board, subject to subsection (2).

  • Marginal note:Requirements

    (2) A carrier may require a person with a disability who requests to travel with a service dog to control the dog with a leash, tether or harness during travel and to provide

    • (a) at the time that the person with a disability makes the reservation with the carrier, a declaration attesting that the service dog has been individually trained by an organization or person specializing in service dog training to perform a task to assist the person with a disability with a need related to their disability; and

    • (b) before departure, an identification card or other document that is issued by an organization or person specializing in service dog training that identifies the person with a disability and attests that the service dog has been individually trained by the organization or person to perform a task to assist the person with a disability with a need related to their disability.

  • Marginal note:Electronic copy

    (3) The condition in paragraph (2)(b) is met if the person has provided the card or other document referred to in that paragraph to the carrier for the purpose of a previous request for a service and the carrier has retained an electronic copy of it.

  • Marginal note:Additional space for service dog

    (4) If, because of the size of the service dog, the passenger seat of the person with a disability does not provide sufficient floor space for the service dog to lie down at the person’s feet in a manner that ensures the safety and well-being of the dog and the person, the carrier must provide to the person any passenger seat adjacent to their passenger seat that is needed to provide sufficient floor space for the service dog.

Additional Passenger Seat

Marginal note:Duty to provide additional seating space

 On the request of a person with a disability who needs more than one passenger seat because of the nature of their disability, the carrier must provide to the person any passenger seat adjacent to their passenger seat that is needed by the person.

Allergy Buffer Zone

Marginal note:Duty to establish buffer zone

  •  (1) On the request of a person who has a disability due to a severe allergy, a carrier must ensure that a buffer zone is established around the passenger seat of the person to assist them in avoiding the risk of exposure to the allergen by taking the following measures:

    • (a) providing the person with a passenger seat that is in a bank of seats other than the bank of seats in which the source of the allergen is located and other than the bank of seats facing that bank of seats; and

    • (b) notifying the passengers who are sitting in the same bank of seats as the person that a passenger with a severe allergy is present and informing them of the allergen.

  • Marginal note:Definition of bank of seats

    (2) In this section, bank of seats means passenger seats that are immediately adjacent to each other and does not include passenger seats that are across the aisle.

Communication of Information

Marginal note:Reservations — identification of needs

  •  (1) If a person with a disability identifies the nature of their disability when making a reservation with a carrier, the carrier must engage in a dialogue with the person for the purpose of identifying their needs in relation to their disability and the services offered by the carrier in relation to those needs.

  • Marginal note:Reservations — bus

    (2) If a person with a disability identifies the nature of their disability when making a reservation with a bus carrier, the bus carrier must

    • (a) provide information about any stops and transfer points; and

    • (b) advise the person in advance if the route does not have a regularly scheduled stop at a rest stop that has a washroom that accommodates a person using a mobility aid and any support person and offer the person their choice of alternative rest stops on the route.

Marginal note:Accessible seats or cabins

 If a person with a disability identifies the nature of their disability when making a reservation with a carrier, the carrier must

  • (a) before assigning a passenger seat or cabin to a person with a disability, inform the person of the passenger seats and cabins that are available in the class of service that the person has requested and that have equipment and facilities that best meet the accessibility needs of that person, such as a wheelchair-accessible washroom or a passenger seat that has additional leg room, a larger seat pitch or movable armrests; and

  • (b) in assigning a passenger seat or cabin to a person with a disability, take into account the person’s opinion with respect to which seats or cabins would best meet the accessibility needs of that person.

Marginal note:Mobility aids — maximum weight and dimensions

 A carrier must publish in electronic format on its website, or in another format if it does not have a website, information about the maximum weight and dimensions of mobility aids that each make and model of its aircraft, trains, ferries or buses, as the case may be, is capable of transporting.

Marginal note:On-board announcements

 A carrier must, on the request of a person with a disability, ensure that any public announcement that is made on board is made in an audio format or a visual format.

Procedures Applicable to Requests for Services

Marginal note:Written confirmation of services

 If a carrier is required by this Part to provide a service to a person with a disability, the carrier must, without delay, indicate in the record of a person’s travel reservation the services that the carrier will provide to the person and include a written confirmation of the services in the itinerary that is issued to the person and, if a service is confirmed only after the itinerary is issued, the carrier must, without delay, provide a written confirmation of the service.

Marginal note:Retention of electronic copies

 If, on the request of a carrier, a person with a disability provides the carrier with information, including personal health information, in relation to a request for a service referred to in this Part, the carrier must offer to retain an electronic copy of that information for a period of at least three years for the purpose of permitting the carrier to use that information if the person makes another request for a service.

Refusal of Transportation

Marginal note:Prohibition

  •  (1) It is prohibited for a carrier to refuse to transport a person with a disability unless the transportation of the person would impose an undue hardship on the carrier.

  • Marginal note:Explanation of refusal

    (2) If a carrier refuses to transport a person with a disability, the carrier must, at the time of the refusal, inform the person of the carrier’s reasons for the refusal and, not later than 10 days after the day of the refusal, provide the person with a written notice setting out the reasons for the refusal, including the following:

    • (a) the evidence of undue hardship, such as an engineering report, a medical report or an expert opinion that demonstrates that the risk is significant enough that it would be unreasonable to waive or modify a requirement;

    • (b) any relevant rule, policy or procedure or regulation; and

    • (c) the duration of the refusal and the conditions, if any, under which the carrier would accept the person for transport.

Damaged, Destroyed or Lost Mobility Aids

Marginal note:Duty of carrier

 If the mobility aid of a person with a disability is not retained by the person during transport and it is damaged, destroyed or lost during transport or is not made available to the person at the time of their arrival at their destination, the carrier must, without delay and at the carrier’s own expense,

  • (a) provide them with a temporary replacement mobility aid that meets their needs in relation to their mobility and that they are permitted to use until their mobility aid is returned to them or is repaired or replaced or until they are reimbursed by the carrier for the loss of the mobility aid;

  • (b) reimburse the person for any expenses they have incurred because the mobility aid was damaged, destroyed or lost or because it was not made available to them at the time of their arrival at their destination;

  • (c) in the case of a damaged mobility aid, arrange for the repair of the mobility aid and return it to the person without delay or, in the case of a damaged mobility aid that cannot be adequately repaired,

    • (i) replace the damaged mobility aid with the same model of mobility aid or, if the same model is not available, a model that has equivalent features and qualities as the damaged mobility aid and that meets the person’s needs in relation to their mobility, or

    • (ii) reimburse the person for the full replacement cost of the mobility aid; and

  • (d) in the case of a destroyed mobility aid or a mobility aid that is not made available to the person at the time of their arrival at their destination and that is not returned to them within, in the case of an air carrier, 96 hours after that arrival or, in the case of a train, marine or bus carrier, 72 hours after that arrival,

    • (i) replace the destroyed or lost mobility aid with the same model of mobility aid or, if the same model is not available, a model that has equivalent features and qualities as the destroyed or lost mobility aid and that meets the person’s needs in relation to their mobility, or

    • (ii) reimburse the person for the full replacement cost of the mobility aid.

Marginal note:Air transportation — special declaration of interest

  •  (1) If a person with a disability who uses a mobility aid makes a reservation with an air carrier for transportation on an international service, the air carrier must advise the person of the option to make a special declaration of interest, under Article 22(2) of the Montreal Convention or under Article 22(2) of the Warsaw Convention, that sets out the monetary value of the mobility aid and a description of its identifying features.

  • Marginal note:Period for making special declaration

    (2) The air carrier must permit a person with a disability to make the special declaration of interest at any time before the mobility aid is removed by the carrier for storage in the aircraft’s baggage compartment.

  • Marginal note:Notice on website

    (3) An air carrier that operates an international service must publish in electronic format on its website, or in another format if it does not have a website, a notice for persons with disabilities who use mobility aids that informs them of the option to make a special declaration of interest under Article 22(2) of the Montreal Convention or under Article 22(2) of the Warsaw Convention.

  • Marginal note:Definition

    (4) The following definitions apply in this section.

    Montreal Convention

    Montreal Convention means the Convention for the Unification of Certain Rules for International Carriage by Air, signed on May 28, 1999, at Montréal, Quebec, Canada. (Convention de Montréal)

    Warsaw Convention

    Warsaw Convention means the Convention for the Unification of Certain Rules Relating to International Carriage by Air, signed on October 12, 1929 at Warsaw, Poland. (Convention de Varsovie)

PART 3Technical Requirements Applicable to Carriers

DIVISION 1Air Carriers

Application

Marginal note:Definitions

  •  (1) The following definitions apply in this section.

    Canadian

    Canadian has the same meaning as in subsection 55(1) of the Act. (Canadien)

    domestic service

    domestic service has the same meaning as in subsection 55(1) of the Act. (service intérieur)

    international service

    international service has the same meaning as in subsection 55(1) of the Act. (service international)

    large air carrier

    large air carrier means an air carrier that transported a worldwide total of 1,000,000 passengers or more during each of the two preceding calendar years. (gros transporteur aérien)

  • Marginal note:Canadian large air carriers

    (2) Unless otherwise specified, this Division applies to every large air carrier that is a Canadian and that provides a domestic service or international service for the transportation of passengers.

Marginal note:Non-application — certain aircraft

 This Division does not apply to an air carrier in respect of any aircraft that

  • (a) has a certificated maximum carrying capacity of not more than 29 passengers;

  • (b) was manufactured before May 13, 2009; or

  • (c) is leased by the carrier on a short-term basis in order to respond to an emergency or to replace an aircraft that requires repairs due to an unforeseen mechanical failure.

Marginal note:Non-application of sections 77 to 79 — certain aircraft

 Sections 77 to 79 do not apply to an air carrier in respect of any aircraft that has only one aisle.

Marginal note:Pre-existing aircraft

  •  (1) Subject to subsections (2) and (3), the provisions of this Division, except sections 72, 73, 76 and 81, do not apply to a pre-existing aircraft.

  • Marginal note:Clarification — portable equipment

    (2) Sections 69 to 71 apply to a pre-existing aircraft with respect to any lift, ramp or stairs that are portable and not integrated with the pre-existing aircraft.

  • Marginal note:Modifications

    (3) If a carrier makes a modification — other than a modification to a mechanical, electrical or plumbing system or a modification carried out for an aesthetic purpose or for maintenance or repair — to any amenity or equipment that is used in a pre-existing aircraft, the carrier must ensure that the modified amenity or equipment meets the requirements of this Division, except in the following circumstances:

    • (a) the dimensions of the aircraft or of the amenity or equipment are unalterable;

    • (b) the structural integrity or safe operation of the aircraft or of the amenity or equipment would be materially affected;

    • (c) the principal purpose of the amenity or equipment would be fundamentally altered; or

    • (d) a compliant amenity or equipment could not be certified for installation on the aircraft.

  • Marginal note:Definition of pre-existing aircraft

    (4) In this section, a pre-existing aircraft means an aircraft that was

    • (a) purchased or leased by the carrier before the day on which this section comes into force; or

    • (b) purchased or leased by the carrier on or after the day on which this section comes into force, if the carrier submitted the call for tenders in respect of that aircraft before that day.

Marginal note:Unavailability of compliant amenity or equipment

 A carrier does not contravene a requirement of this Division that applies to an amenity or equipment used in an aircraft if the amenity or equipment does not comply with that requirement because

  • (a) a compliant amenity or equipment is not reasonably available for purchase from any manufacturer or supplier; or

  • (b) a compliant amenity or equipment could not be certified for installation on the aircraft.

 

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