Canada. Royal Commission on National Passenger Transportation : The Royal Commission on National Passenger Transportation was established in 1989 (P.C. 2096, 19 October 1989), appointed under Part I of the Inquiries Act, RSC 1985, c. I-11. Subsequent Orders in Council relating to the Commission are: P.C. 2259, 9 November 1989; P.C. 103, 17 January 1991 and P.C. 800, 25 April 1991. The commissioners were Louis Davies Hyndman, Chairman; Marie-Josée Drouin, Marc Gaudry, William P. Kelly, John B. Hamilton, John Forbes Helliwell, James D. McNievan, and Maurice Leclair. The secretary was Susan A. Fish.
As a vast nation with a small population, transportation networks in Canada are expensive to operate relative to the volume of traffic. To secure a thorough understanding of our passenger transportation system, a royal commission was appointed to recommend guideline for all forms of passenger transportation in Canada (including air, train, bus, automobile and ferries) for the immediate future and into the next century. According to the Order in Council under which the inquiry was established, the mandate of the commission was to inquire into and report upon a national integrated inter-city passenger transportation system to meet the needs of Canada and Canadians in the 21st century and to ensure that transportation links among Canada's regions and communities are maintained and improved.
The Royal Commission addressed a range of issues. Public transportation in Canada is undergoing rapid and major change. The crises caused by a decrease in the importance of railway passenger transportation has not been resolved. There is an on-going debate between those who see rail as essential to Canada's future and those who see it as a drain on our national economy. The public seems to want better rail service but is increasingly pessimistic that this is a realistic expectation. Although air traffic has increased its share of passenger travel over the past few years, the industry has been very unstable. Corporate takeovers and the growing congestion at major terminals in Canada hint at limits to growth in the future. There is no doubt that air travel will continue to be important, but it is not certain what form of corporate or route organization will take place. Buses continue to handle a significant number of travellers, some of whom formally used the train. However, bus service remains largely independent of other modes of transportation. Generally, it remains favoured only by those in lower economic groups. Above all, the automobile continues with relentless force to expand its popularity with Canadians. The changes in our modes of transportation has led to searches for new policies. Transport Canada has tried to defend passenger rail services and has been supported by other lobby groups and some politicians. On the other hand, the Transportation Association of Canada has argued that there must be a return to large scale investment in improving highways. The public is in the most paradoxical position of all because it is the public choice of means of transport, especially its overwhelming attachment to the automobile, that had determined much of the policy over the last few years. The public is also one of the staunchest defenders of passenger rail transport. Even those who do not use the train have a strong emotional attachment to passenger rail traffic. Therefore, rail passenger services, so long underfunded and underutilised have refused to die (Passenger Transportation as Policy and Symbol in Canada, D.R. Owram, pp. 123-144 in Directions, the Final Report of the Royal Commission on National Passenger Transportation, vol 3, 1992).
The interim report of the royal commission was published in 1991 and the final report, in four volumes, was published in 1992.
