Board of Transport Commissioners for Canada : This Board came into being when the Transport Act of 1938 (2 Geo. VI, c. 53) was passed. It replaced the Board of Railway Commissioners (1904-1938) and would eventually be replaced by the Canadian Transportation Commission (1967-1988). The Board of Transport Commissioners answered to Parliament through the Minister of Transport.
The Act of 1938 recognized for the first time the relationship of the various modes of transport. Government participation was now seen as not only regulating and adjudicating but also implementing a national transport policy involving all forms of transportation. Consequently, the new Board was charged with the duty of coordinating and harmonizing the operations of all carriers engaged in transport by railways, ships and aircraft. It also had to ascertain whether a new service was desirable and necessary before an operating licence could be issued. The Board issued licences to air and shipping firms, approved their tariffs and regulated air traffic. It continued to oversee rail activities, as the safety and efficiency in marine and air transport still came under the Department of Transport.
In 1944, the Board's responsibility regarding air transport was transferred to the Air Transport Board following an amendment to the Aeronautics Act (8 Geo. VI, c. 25).
The Board's activities underwent several significant changes in the decades that followed. In 1946, the Bureau of Transportation Economics was created within the BTC and given a mandate to supply the latter with studies and reports on the economic aspects of cases before the Board.
In 1955, the Accounts and Cost Finding Branch was created to establish and maintain uniform accounting, costing and statistical procedures for Canadian railways. Two years later, the Bureau of Transportation Economics and the Accounts and Cost Finding Branch were merged to form the Economics and Accounting Branch.
In 1949, oil and gas pipelines were brought within the jurisdiction of the Board of Transportation Commissioners by the Pipelines Act (13 Geo. VI, c. 20). As was the case with railways, the Board had to approve their location, construction, provision for public safety and rates. However, in 1959, responsibility for pipeline regulation was transferred from the Board of Transport Commissioners to the National Energy Board by the National Energy Board Act (7-8 Eliz. II, c. 2).
Also in 1959, a compulsory freight rate reduction was ordered by the Freight Rate Reduction Act. The reimbursement of the value of this reduction to the carriers was administered by the Traffic Branch of the Board of Transport Commissioners.
In 1968, the mandate of the Board of Transport Commissioners was transferred to the Canadian Transportation Commission.
