Organization and mandate

The Canadian Transportation Agency (CTA) is an independent, quasi-judicial tribunal and regulator that has, with respect to all matters necessary for the exercise of its jurisdiction, all the powers of a superior court.

The CTA is made up of five full-time Members; up to three temporary Members may also be named. The Members, who are all based in the National Capital Region, are supported in their decision-making process by some 330 employees and administrative staff.

The CTA has three core mandates

• We help ensure that the national transportation system runs efficiently and smoothly in the interests of all Canadians: those who work and invest in it; the producers, shippers, travellers and businesses who rely on it; and the communities where it operates.
• We provide consumer protection for air passengers.
• We protect the human right of persons with disabilities to an accessible transportation network.

Our tools

To help advance these mandates, we have three tools at our disposal:

• Rule-making: We develop and enforce ground rules that establish the rights and responsibilities of transportation service providers and users and that level the playing field among competitors. These rules can take the form of binding regulations or less formal guidelines, codes of practice or interpretation notes.

• Dispute resolution: We resolve disputes that arise between transportation providers on the one hand, and their clients and neighbours on the other, using a range of tools from facilitation and mediation to arbitration and adjudication.

• Information provision: We provide information on the transportation system, the rights and responsibilities of transportation providers and users, and the Agency's legislation and services.

Our values

Our Code of Values and Ethics outlines the core values and expected behaviours that guide us in all activities related to our professional duties. Our guiding values are:

• Respect for democracy - We uphold Canadian parliamentary democracy and promote constructive and timely exchange of views and information.

• Respect for people - We treat people with dignity and fairness and foster a cooperative, rewarding working environment.

• Integrity - We act with honesty, fairness, impartiality and transparency.

• Stewardship - We use and manage our resources wisely and take full responsibility for our obligations and commitments.

• Excellence - We provide the highest quality service through innovation, professionalism and responsiveness.

Members

• France Pégeot, Chair and CEO
• Elizabeth C. Barker, Vice-Chair
• Mark MacKeigan, Member
• Mary Tobin Oates, Member
• Heather Smith, Member
• Lenore Duff, temporary Member

France Pégeot, Chair and CEO

France Pégeot was appointed Chair and CEO of the Canadian Transportation Agency (CTA) on June 1, 2021.

Highly committed to public service for over 30 years, and an agent of change within the organizations where she works, she has diversified management experience, including in the fields of regulation and economic development.

Before joining the CTA, Ms. Pégeot most recently served as Executive Vice-President of the Canadian Food Inspection Agency.

Prior to that, she has held Assistant Deputy Minister positions in the following departments: Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, Justice Canada, Fisheries and Oceans Canada, Industry Canada and Economic Development for the Quebec Regions.

Prior to becoming Assistant Deputy Minister, Ms. Pégeot participated in an Interchange assignment with Encana Corp. in Calgary and worked in various departments, including Health Canada and the Privy Council Office. She started her career in the Quebec Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food.

She holds a Master of Policy Analysis and a Bachelor of Food Science and Technology, both from Laval University.

Elizabeth C. Barker, Vice-Chair

Liz Barker began a five-year term as Vice-Chair and Member of the Canadian Transportation Agency (CTA) on April 3, 2018. 

Liz joined the CTA's predecessor, the National Transportation Agency, in 1991 as counsel.  She has held several positions at the CTA, including, most recently, Chief Corporate Officer, Senior General Counsel and Secretary.  She has worked in all areas of the Agency’s mandate over the years, but has specialized in advising the tribunal in complex dispute adjudications and oral hearings on controversial subjects including rail level of service complaints, a wide range of complex accessible transportation disputes, and ministerial inquiries into marine pilotage and the accessibility of inter-city motor coach services.  She has also worked extensively in the development of the Agency’s approach to its human rights mandate, administrative monetary penalties regime, alternative dispute resolution, final offer arbitration, and rail level of service arbitration.  She has appeared as counsel before all levels of court, including the Federal Court, the Federal Court of Appeal, and the Supreme Court of Canada, as co-counsel in Council of Canadians with Disabilities v. VIA Rail Canada Inc., [2007] 1 S.C.R. 650.

Liz was a recipient of the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee Medal in 2016 for her work at the Agency, in particular in accessible transportation, the administrative monetary penalties program, and for her leadership of the Legal Services Branch.

Liz received her law degree from Osgoode Hall Law School in 1987 and her B.A. (Honours in Law) from Carleton University in 1984.  She has been a member of the  Law Society of Ontario since 1989.

Mark MacKeigan, Member

Mark MacKeigan began a four-year term as a Member of the Canadian Transportation Agency on May 28, 2018.

He comes to the Agency from The St. Lawrence Seaway Management Corporation, the not-for-profit operator of the federal government's Seaway assets, where he was Chief Legal Officer and Corporate Secretary from 2014.

Mark is not entirely new to the Agency, having served previously as a Member from 2007 to 2014 and as legal counsel on specific files in a contract position during 1996.

His transportation law experience includes six years as senior legal counsel with the International Air Transport Association in Montréal from 2001 to 2007, focusing on competition law, cargo services, aviation regulatory and public international law matters. From 1996 to 2000, he was legal counsel with NAV CANADA, the country's provider of civil air navigation services.

Mark began his legal career in private practice in Toronto. After earning a Bachelor of Arts with highest honours in Political Science from Carleton University, Mark obtained his law degree from the University of Toronto and a Master of Laws from the Institute of Air and Space Law at McGill University. He also holds a postgraduate diploma in European Union Competition Law from King's College London.

He is a member of the Bars of Ontario and the State of New York and is admitted as a solicitor in England and Wales.

Mary Tobin Oates, Member

After 25 years of public service, Mary Tobin Oates joined the Canadian Transportation Agency on 9 July 2018. As a lawyer, Mary practised in different areas of law, largely in public and administrative law. She appeared before the Pension Appeals Board and the Federal Court of Appeal regarding disability benefits under the Canada Pension Plan and the Old Age Security Act. Mary served as a Board member of the Veterans Review and Appeal Board where she determined eligibility for disability benefits for members of the Canadian Forces and the Royal Canadian Mounted Police. Mary provided legal and policy advice on indigenous issues to the Department of Justice and to Indian and Northern Affairs Canada. She also served as Board member to Tungasuvvingat Inuit, a not-for-profit, charitable organization that provides services to and advocates on behalf of Inuit who live in southern Canada.

Before becoming a lawyer, Mary worked as a technical editor for the Canadian Transportation Accident and Safety Board (now Transportation Safety Board).

Mary received her Bachelor of Arts from Memorial University of Newfoundland and graduated from Osgoode Hall Law School. She has been a member of the Law Society of Ontario (formerly the Law Society of Upper Canada) since February 1997.

Heather Smith, Member

Heather Smith became a full-time Member of the Canadian Transportation Agency on August 27, 2018. Heather was most recently Vice-President, Operations at the Canadian Environmental Assessment Agency. In previous positions, Heather was Executive Director in the Government Operations Sector of Treasury Board Secretariat, and Director General in the Strategic Policy Branch at Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada (AAFC). Heather held several management positions within Justice Canada, as General Counsel and Head of AAFC Legal Services, General Counsel and Head of Legal Services at the Canadian Environmental Assessment Agency, and General Counsel in the Legal Services Unit of Social Development Canada/Human Resources and Skills Development Canada.

Heather also served as legal counsel at Environment Canada Legal Services and Manager of the Canadian Environmental Protection Act Office at Environment Canada. Heather holds a B.A.(Hons.) from the University of King's College and an L.L.B. from the University of Toronto. She has also earned the Chartered Director (C.Dir.) designation from the McMaster/DeGroote Directors College.

Lenore Duff, temporary Member

Lenore Duff returned to the Canadian Transportation Agency after having served as a temporary Member from 2018-2020. She is a former public service executive with 28 years of service with the Government of Canada whose positions included Director General, Strategic Initiatives at the Labour Program; Director General, Surface Transportation Policy at Transport Canada; and Senior Privy Council Officer supporting the Social Affairs Committee of Cabinet. Her primary focus throughout her career has been on the development of policy and legislation across a broad range of economic and social policy areas.

As Director General, Surface Transportation Policy at Transport Canada, Lenore was responsible for developing policy options and providing advice on strengthening the freight rail liability and compensation regime, as well as on reforming freight rail provisions as part of the recent modernization of the Canada Transportation Act. At the Labour Program, her work included leading the development of a series of legislative initiatives designed to enhance protections for federally regulated employees. Prior to that, Lenore was responsible for the development of policy initiatives related to income, employment and disability.

In the course of her career, Lenore has also had the opportunity to conduct consultations with a broad range of industry, civil society and government stakeholders to inform the development of policy and legislation.

Lenore earned both a Bachelor of Arts (Honours Sociology) and Master of Arts in Sociology from Carleton University.