June 2, 2025
This Practice direction helps parties understand the rules and procedures of the Transportation Appeal Tribunal of Canada (Tribunal).
1. Purpose
1.1 The purpose of this practice direction is to provide guidance and clarify the process for requesting a private hearing before the Tribunal.
2. Background
2.1 This Practice Direction applies to all proceedings conducted by the Tribunal, related to all modes of transportation at both the review and appeal levels.
2.2 The open court principle is grounded in paragraph 2(b) of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. It means that court and tribunal hearings should be open to the public. “Public” refers to individuals who are not involved in the review or appeal. This includes the media.
2.3 The presumption in favour of open court is strong but not absolute, as it can be overturned in certain cases. Indeed, the open court principle is flexible enough to accommodate exceptions that are necessary, in some circumstances, to protect fair proceedings, the proper administration of justice, privacy, or other compelling interests.
2.4 The Tribunal adheres to the open court principle and conducts most of its hearings in public, by videoconference.
2.5 The Transportation Appeal Tribunal of Canada Act (Act) provides the Tribunal with the statutory discretion to treat as private certain hearings and documents that would normally be disclosed under the open court principle.
2.6 Subsection 15(4) of the Act outlines the Tribunal’s authority with regard to conducting private hearings:
15(4) Hearings shall be held in public. However, the Tribunal may hold all or any part of a hearing in private if it is of the opinion that
(a) a public hearing would not be in the public interest;
(b) medical information about a person may be disclosed and the desirability of ensuring that, in the interests of that person, the information is not publicly disclosed outweighs the desirability of adhering to the principle that hearings be open to the public; or
(c) confidential business information may be disclosed and the desirability of ensuring that the information is not publicly disclosed outweighs the desirability of adhering to the principle that hearings be open to the public.
2.7 In accordance with the Act, a determination to hold a hearing in private may be made upon request from a party or by the Tribunal on its own initiative. A hearing held entirely in private prevents public access to the case file, hearing and decision. A hearing held partially in private limits access to the information disclosed during the portion of the hearing held in private.
3. Medical Hearings
3.1 The Tribunal has determined that hearings held to review a decision made by the Minister of Transport pertaining to a medical certificate pursuant to the Canada Shipping Act, 2001 or the Aeronautics Act are to be held in private, as it is of the opinion that this type of hearing satisfies the requirement set out at paragraph 15(4)b) of the Act.
3.2 It follows that the hearing schedule published on the Tribunal’s website does not include medical hearings and that the case files and decisions related to these hearings are not made available to the public.
4. Application and Procedure
4.1 A party may request that all or any part of a hearing be conducted in private pursuant to subsection 15(4) of the Act. The requesting party must contact the Tribunal’s Registry at Registry-Greffe@tatc.gc.ca and make such a request in writing. The following information must be provided to the Registry in the request:
a. the Tribunal’s case name and file number;
b. the reason why the applicant is of the view that the test(s) set out at paragraphs 15(4)a), b) and/or c) of the Act is/are met (i.e. that it is not in the public interest to hold a public hearing and/or that the need to protect the medical or confidential business information from being disclosed to the public outweighs the desirability of adhering to the principle that hearings be open to the public);
c. the name of the individual and/or business whose information will be disclosed at the hearing;
d. the nature of the information to be protected from disclosure to the public and/or whether the request pertains to conducting all or part of the hearing in private;
e. if the request pertains to one document, a copy of that document; and
f. the date of the case management conference or hearing, if already set.
4.2 Only the subject whose information will be disclosed at a hearing, or their representative, may make a request to hold all or any part of a hearing in private.
4.3 A request to hold all or any part of a hearing in private to protect information from disclosure to the public must be made as soon as possible, in order to allow the Tribunal to consider and render a decision on the request prior to the hearing.
4.4 Requests to hold all or any part of a hearing in private may be made regardless of the form of hearing selected for the case, including by videoconference, in-person or by written submissions.
Gary Drouin
Chairperson