Appointments to the Transportation Appeal Tribunal of Canada

OTTAWA, June 27, 2012 /CNW/ - The Honourable Denis Lebel, Minister of Transport, Infrastructure and Communities, today announced appointments to the Transportation Appeal Tribunal of Canada (TATC). Dr. Alex Phillips and Mr. Jim Parsons have each been appointed as part-time members for a four-year term.

"I am pleased that these impressive individuals from the fields of aviation and marine have agreed to serve the TATC," said Minister Lebel. "Together, they bring a wealth of knowledge and experience that will greatly benefit the tribunal."

Dr. Phillips, of Edmonton, is a Senior Manager of Regulatory Affairs at Epcor Utilities Ltd. He provides regulatory law and policy advice on the Alberta Utilities Commission and the Alberta Department of Energy related to rate, tariff and facility applications. He has over 25 years of experience providing legal counsel and advice on transportation matters, including deregulation, aviation licensing, export trade competitiveness and transport safety regulation. Among Dr. Phillip's qualifications are a bachelor of laws from the University of Manitoba, master of laws in international air law and aviation deregulation from the London School of Economics, and a doctorate of juridical science from Bond University, Australia.

Mr. Parsons is a director, coordinator and lecturer at the Fisheries and Marine Institute of Memorial University, and he has held these positions since 1997. He has been responsible for the development and delivery of oil tanker, floating production storage and offloading, mobile offshore drilling unit, and marine regulatory awareness training programs for clients working with the Hibernia and Terra Nova projects. Previously, Mr. Parsons was a marine consultant at Bateman Chapman (Canada) Ltd. and he owned OTI Canada Group, a company involved in marine surveying, cargo inspections and safety and pollution control. Currently he owns   a marine consultancy called Global Marine Solutions. He is a Master Mariner with significant experience in Canadian Arctic waters and, among his many degrees, he has a PhD in marine transportation and economics from the University of Plymouth in England, and a bachelor of maritime studies from Memorial University. 

The TATC is a multimodal tribunal that provides a recourse mechanism to the air, rail and marine sectors with respect to certain administrative actions taken by the Minister of Transport under various pieces of federal transportation legislation. The TATC holds review and appeal hearings at the request of persons affected by these administrative decisions.