Canadian Air Transport Security Authority Act (S.C. 2002, c. 9, s. 2)

Staff

Marginal note:Staff

25 The Authority may employ any officers, employees or agents and retain the services of any technical or professional advisers that it considers necessary for the proper conduct of its activities and affairs and may fix the terms and conditions of their engagement.

Marginal note:Accident compensation

26 The Chairperson, the chief executive officer and the directors, officers and employees of the Authority are deemed to be employees for the purposes of the Government Employees Compensation Act and to be employed in the public service of Canada for the purposes of any regulations made under section 9 of the Aeronautics Act.

Marginal note:Safety of the public

27 The provision of screening at an aerodrome is conclusively deemed for all purposes to be a service that is necessary to prevent immediate and serious danger to the safety of the public.

Contracts, Agreements and Arrangements

Marginal note:Contracts with Her Majesty

• 28 (1) The Authority may enter into contracts, agreements or other arrangements with Her Majesty as if it were not an agent of Her Majesty.

• Marginal note:Agreements

  (2) The Authority may enter into agreements with Her Majesty represented by the Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness or by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police for the provision of services, including services on aircraft, and may make payments in respect of those services.

Marginal note:Policing

29 The Authority may, with the approval of the Treasury Board, enter into agreements with the operator of any aerodrome designated by regulation for the purposes of contributing to the costs of policing incurred by that operator in carrying out their responsibilities.

Marginal note:Provision of space

30 Every operator of an aerodrome designated by the regulations must provide to the Authority, and maintain free of charge, such space at the aerodrome with services reasonably required by the Authority as the Authority and the operator agree on or, in the absence of agreement, such space at the aerodrome with services reasonably required by the Authority as the Minister determines to be necessary to enable the Authority to carry out its mandate.

Marginal note:Agreement — screening

• 30.1 (1) The Authority may, with the Minister’s approval and subject to any terms and conditions that the Minister may establish, enter into an agreement respecting the delivery of screening referred to in subsection 6(1) with any person who requests the delivery of such screening.

• Marginal note:Mandate

  (2) For greater certainty, the Authority’s mandate under subsection 6(1) includes any screening it delivers, either directly or through a screening contractor, under an agreement entered into under subsection (1).

• Marginal note:Cost recovery

  (3) Despite subsection (2), if the Authority delivers screening for which payment of an amount is required from the other party under the terms of an agreement entered into under subsection (1), the delivery of that screening is deemed, for the purposes of recovering that amount, not to be a duty of the Authority under this Act.

Audit

Marginal note:Audit

31 The Auditor General of Canada is the auditor of the Authority.

Security-related Information

Marginal note:Protection of information

• 32 (1) Nothing in this Act, Part X of the Financial Administration Act or the Statutory Instruments Act shall be construed as requiring the tabling before either House of Parliament of any information the publication of which, in the opinion of the Minister, would be detrimental to air transport security or public security.

• Marginal note:Requirement of confidentiality

  (2) The Authority, authorized aerodrome operators and screening contractors must keep confidential any information the publication of which, in the opinion of the Minister, would be detrimental to air transport security or public security, including financial and other data that might reveal such information.

Five-year Review

Marginal note:Review of Act in five years

• 33 (1) A review of the provisions and the operation of this Act must be completed by the Minister during the fifth year after this section comes into force.

• Marginal note:Tabling of report

  (2) The Minister must cause a report of the results of the review to be laid before each House of Parliament on any of the first fifteen days on which that House is sitting after the report has been completed.

Regulations

Marginal note:Regulations by Governor in Council

34 The Governor in Council may make regulations

• (a) designating aerodromes for the purposes of this Act; and

• (b) requiring the Authority to provide to the Minister such information as the Minister may request.

Transitional Provisions

Marginal note:Initial powers

35 Despite any other provision of this Act, pending the initial appointment of the directors, the Chairperson and any directors who have been appointed have all the powers of the board even if their number does not constitute a quorum.

Marginal note:Transfer of screening equipment

• 36 (1) The Governor in Council may require the Air Transport Security Corporation to transfer to the Authority, on such terms as the Governor in Council considers appropriate, good title in any or all screening equipment or other assets owned by the Corporation immediately before the coming into force of this section, free and clear of all liens and encumbrances, for such consideration as the Governor in Council may determine, having regard to the amount that the Corporation paid to acquire it as well as other relevant factors.

• Marginal note:Other transfers to Authority

  (2) The Governor in Council may require the Air Transport Security Corporation to transfer to the Authority, on such terms as the Governor in Council considers appropriate, any rights, titles, interests or obligations under any contract entered into by the Corporation that is specified by the Minister, despite any contractual restriction on the transfer of those rights, titles, interests or obligations.

• Marginal note:Transfer to Authority from air carriers

  (3) The Governor in Council may require air carriers to transfer to the Authority, on such terms as the Governor in Council considers appropriate, their rights, titles, interests or obligations under any contract respecting screening specified by the Minister, despite any contractual restriction on the transfer of those rights, titles, interests or obligations.

• Marginal note:Transfer of contracts

  (4) The transfer to the Authority of responsibility for any existing contracts under this section does not affect any rights, responsibilities or obligations acquired under the Canada Labour Code by the contractors, their employees or any trade union certified to represent those employees.

• Marginal note:Transfer of screening equipment

  (5) The Governor in Council may transfer to the Authority any screening equipment owned by Her Majesty, including explosive detection equipment, on such terms and conditions as the Governor in Council considers appropriate.

• Marginal note:Transfer of Her Majesty’s rights, etc., under contract

  (6) The Governor in Council may transfer to the Authority, on such terms as the Governor in Council considers appropriate, Her Majesty’s rights, titles, interests or obligations under any contract entered into by the Minister before the coming into force of this section respecting a subject-matter that is within the mandate of the Authority.

• Marginal note:Acceptance of transfers

  (7) The Authority must accept any transfer made under this section.

Marginal note:Appropriation

37 The amount of 340 million dollars is appropriated to the Minister from the Consolidated Revenue Fund for payment to the Authority for operating and capital expenditures incurred by it in the fiscal year 2002-2003 in carrying out its mandate, including payments made to authorized aerodrome operators and contributions made to designated airport authorities.

Marginal note:Agreements to continue delivering screening

38 The Authority may enter into an agreement with an air carrier in order to contribute to the costs of screening at an aerodrome designated by regulation, if the costs are incurred by the air carrier after the day on which this section comes into force and before the day on which the Authority is required under the Aeronautics Act to deliver that screening.

Marginal note:Financial documents

• 39 (1) Despite the period prescribed for submitting a corporate plan, an operating budget and a capital budget under the Financial Administration Act, the Authority must, within six months after the coming into force of this section, submit to the Minister in accordance with that Act a corporate plan, an operating budget and a capital budget for its first financial year.

• Marginal note:Expenditure of funds

  (2) Until the initial corporate plan, operating budget and capital budget for the Authority have been approved, the Authority may, despite sections 122 to 124 of the Financial Administration Act, expend funds, with the approval of the Minister, that the board considers to be essential for the Authority to become fully operational in a timely manner.