Monetary Penalty Framework

Note

On April 1, 2026, the methodology for calculating Administrative Monetary Penalties was amended.

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Enforcement actions

A Designated Enforcement Officer's (DEO) response to non-compliance escalates in severity depending upon the nature of the violation and the compliance history of the regulated entity. When a DEO believes that a regulated entity has committed a violation of the Canada Transportation Act (Act) or regulations, or when a regulated entity has not complied with a CTA Order, the following enforcement actions are available:

  • Issuing a Notice of Violation Setting an Administrative Monetary Penalty

    A DEO may issue a Notice of Violation (NOV) setting out the administrative monetary penalty (AMP) that the regulated entity is liable to pay. AMPs are administered based on a progressive scheme of penalties aimed at fostering compliance.

  • Issuing a Notice of Violation that Contains a Warning for Contraventions of Accessibility Provisions

    A DEO who believes that a regulated entity has committed a violation of an obligation made for the purpose of identifying or removing barriers or preventing new barriers in the federal transportation network to the mobility of persons with disabilities may issue an NOV that contains a Warning.

  • Issuing a Cautionary Notice

    A DEO may issue a Cautionary Notice to a regulated entity in a limited set of circumstances when the DEO believes that certain acts or omissions on the part of the entity could be in contravention of the Act or regulations.

For additional details on these enforcement actions, consult the CTA's Compliance and Enforcement Policy.

Severity Levels

The CTA has assigned a severity level for each of the legislative or regulatory provisions that are subject to an AMP, from Level A to Level D. A violation of a Level A provision is considered to be strictly administrative in nature, progressing to Level D, the most serious, as described in the following table:

Level Description
A (Administrative) Violation that is strictly administrative in nature
B (Minor) Less serious violation
  • A low impact on the national transportation system
  • An impact on the human right of persons with disabilities to an accessible transportation network
  • A low impact on air passengers
C (Serious) More serious violation
  • A substantial impact on the national transportation system
  • A substantial impact on the human right of persons with disabilities to an accessible transportation network
  • A substantial impact on air passengers
D (Very Serious) The most serious violation
  • A high impact on the national transportation system
  • A high impact on the human right of persons with disabilities to an accessible transportation network
  • A high impact on air passengers

Under the CTA's penalty scheme, progressively higher penalties for repeat violations are imposed. Each subsequent violation of the same provision of the Act or Regulations within a four-year period by the same entity will result in progressively higher penalty amounts, up to the maximum amount specified for each provision.

Administrative Monetary Penalties (various maximum penalty amounts up to $25,000)

Applicable to certain provisions of the:

Corporations

Severity of violation 1st violation 2nd and subsequent violations
A $500 The penalty amount doubles, up to the maximum amount of the designated legislative or regulatory provision
B $1,000 The penalty amount doubles, up to the maximum amount of the designated legislative or regulatory provision
B* $200 The penalty amount doubles, up to the maximum amount of the designated legislative or regulatory provision
C $2,500 The penalty amount doubles, up to the maximum amount of the designated legislative or regulatory provision
C* $500 The penalty amount doubles, up to the maximum amount of the designated legislative or regulatory provision
D $5,000 The penalty amount doubles, up to the maximum amount of the designated legislative or regulatory provision
D* $1,000 The penalty amount doubles, up to the maximum amount of the designated legislative or regulatory provision

* Apply to violations of certain Rail provisions, whereby the AMP is calculated on a per car basis as opposed to on a per event basis.

Individuals

Severity of violation 1st violation 2nd and subsequent violations
A $50 The penalty amount doubles, up to the maximum amount for the applicable legislative or regulatory provision
B $200 The penalty amount doubles, up to the maximum amount for the applicable legislative or regulatory provision
B* $20 The penalty amount doubles, up to the maximum amount for the applicable legislative or regulatory provision
C $500 The penalty amount doubles, up to the maximum amount for the applicable legislative or regulatory provision
C* $50 The penalty amount doubles, up to the maximum amount for the applicable legislative or regulatory provision
D $1,000 The penalty amount doubles, up to the maximum amount for the applicable legislative or regulatory provision
D* $100 The penalty amount doubles, up to the maximum amount for the applicable legislative or regulatory provision

* Apply to violations of certain Rail provisions, whereby the AMP is calculated on a per car basis as opposed to on a per event basis.

Administrative Monetary Penalties (maximum penalty amount of $250,000)

Applicable to certain provisions of the:

 
Severity of violation 1st violation 2nd and subsequent violations
A $2,500 The penalty amount doubles, up to $250,000
B $10,000 The penalty amount doubles, up to $250,000
C $25,000 The penalty amount doubles, up to $250,000
D $50,000 The penalty amount doubles, up to $250,000

Once an NOV that sets out an AMP has been issued in relation to accessibility or requirements under the Air Passenger Protection Regulations, the Agency may, upon request by a regulated entity, enter into a compliance agreement subject to terms that the Agency considers appropriate for the purpose of ensuring the entity's compliance with its legal obligations. The terms may include a provision for the deposit of reasonable security as guarantee that the person will comply with the agreement and may provide for the reduction, in whole or in part, of the amount of the penalty.

AMP calculation

Once a violation has been established, the initial AMP amount is determined by the applicable severity level assigned to the legislative or regulatory provision and the corresponding penalty amount, as described above. The Designated Enforcement Officer (DEO) then considers gravity factors that are weighed and scored, which then determine whether a baseline penalty should be increased or decreased. The gravity factors to be considered are:

  1. History – Past violations of the same or similar provisions
  2. Preventing reoccurrence – Steps taken by the regulated entity to prevent recurrence
  3. Cooperation – The regulated entity’s conduct during the investigation
  4. Characteristics of the violation – Circumstances and seriousness of the violation

The total score established by the DEO determines whether the AMP is adjusted up or down.

Under the Canada Transportation Act, a DEO has the authority to issue an AMP when the DEO believes that a violation has been committed. This policy constitutes a guideline for the DEO who has the ultimate discretion in determining the amount of the AMP.

Note that violations of certain legislative or regulatory provisions – identified in the tables below – are handled on a case-by-case basis, and could result in the issuance of higher AMPs for first and subsequent violations than described above.

The complete scoring charts for the Gravity Factors along with the AMP Adjustment Methodology are found below.

Gravity factors

History

Note: If the regulated entity has previously been issued a Notice of Violation with an AMP for the same provision as the current violation being assessed, the penalty will follow Agency policy, which stipulates that the AMP amount doubles with each subsequent violation, up to the maximum amount of the designated legislative or regulatory provision.

Item Gravity factor History
1. -2 No previous violations of a relevant provision has been committed under the same or similar legislation in the four years preceding the date on which the violation subject to assessment was committed.
2. -1 One previous administrative (severity level A) violation of a relevant provision has been committed under the same or similar legislation in the four years preceding the date on which the violation subject to assessment was committed.
3. 0 One previous minor (severity level B) violation or two previous administrative (severity level A) violations of a relevant provision have been committed under the same or similar legislation in the four years preceding the date on which the violation subject to assessment was committed; OR
The penalty amount has already been doubled pursuant to the Agency’s policy on subsequent violations.
4. 1 One previous serious (severity level C) violation of a relevant provision has been committed under the same or similar legislation in the four years before the day on which the violation subject to the assessment is committed.
5. 2 One previous very serious (severity level D) violation of a relevant provision has been committed under the same or similar legislation the four years preceding the date on which the violation subject to assessment was committed; OR
The history in the four years preceding the day on which the violation subject to the assessment is committed is other than the history set out in item 1, 2, 3 or 4.

Preventing reoccurrence
Item Gravity factor Preventing reoccurrence
1. -1 The regulated entity has provided evidence that it has taken appropriate steps to become compliant and to prevent the violation’s recurrence.
2. 0 The regulated entity has indicated that it will take appropriate steps to become compliant and to prevent the violation’s recurrence.
3. 1 The regulated entity has provided no evidence, nor has it indicated that it is taking appropriate steps to become compliant and to prevent the violations recurrence.

Cooperation
Item Gravity factor Cooperation
1. -1 The regulated entity cooperated in a manner that allowed the investigation to be efficient by providing complete responses, information and data in a timely manner.
2. 0 The regulated entity cooperated during the investigation by providing the requested information and data with minimal to no delays or complications.
3. 1 The regulated entity cooperated during the investigation but acted in a way that unduly complicated or delayed the investigation process. (For example: repeatedly missing deadlines, continuously requesting extensions to provide simple information and/or providing only portions of the requested information without justification.)
*A failure to cooperate with an investigation may result in a separate violation pursuant to subsection 178(5) of the Act.

Characteristics of the violation
Item Gravity factor Cause and impact
1. -4 The administrative (severity level A) or minor (severity level B) violation was unintentional, and the occurrence was unexpected, unusual and outside of the regulated entity’s direct influence (for example, a technological system failure).
2. -3 The serious (severity level C) or very serious (severity level D) violation was unintentional, and the occurrence was unexpected, unusual and outside of the regulated entity’s direct influence (for example, a technological system failure).
3. -2 The administrative (severity level A) or minor (severity level B) violation was unintentional, and the occurrence was unexpected, unusual, but within the regulated entity’s direct influence (for example, the regulated entity has made significant efforts implementing the necessary policies and practices to ensure compliance, but the violation occurred nonetheless).
4. -1 The serious (severity level C) or very serious (severity level D) violation was unintentional and the occurrence was unexpected, unusual, but within the regulated entity’s direct influence (for example, the regulated entity has made significant efforts implementing the necessary policies and practices to ensure compliance, but the violation occurred nonetheless).
5. 0 It was unnecessary to determine the cause of the violation or the cause could not be determined.
6. 1 The administrative (severity level A) or minor (severity level B) violation was or should have been foreseeable.
7. 2 The serious (severity level C) or very serious (severity level D) violation was or should have been foreseeable.
8. 3 The administrative (severity level A) or minor (severity level B) violation was committed deliberately, with disregard for the requirements of the provision violated, or is the result of the regulated entity’s policies or practices.
9. 4 The serious (severity level C) or very serious (severity level D) violation was committed deliberately, with disregard for the requirements of the provision violated, or is the result of the regulated entity’s policies or practices.
*Any determinations for this criteria are not to be confused with the definitions of “within carrier’s control” or “outside carrier’s control”.

AMP Adjustment Methodology

Once scores for each gravity factor have been established, they are added together to determine the total gravity factor. The corresponding Total Gravity Factor in the chart below then determines how the penalty will be adjusted.

Total Gravity Factor Penalty adjustment
-6 or lower Reduce penalty 40%
-5 Reduce penalty 30%
-4 Reduce penalty 20%
-3 Reduce penalty 10%
Between -2 and 2 Do not adjust penalty
3 Increase penalty 10%
4 Increase penalty 20%
5 Increase penalty 30%
6 or higher Increase penalty 40%

Violations and assigned severity levels

Enforcement officers monitor compliance with the following legislation and regulations:

This table shows the level of severity of each type of violation.

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