Policy Group

Mandate:

The Policy Group is responsible for leading research, analysis, and advice to develop and support Transport Canada’s (TC) policy frameworks, funding programs, and regulatory regimes. It is also responsible for advancing and facilitating the Government of Canada's key priorities and commitments, with a focus on the efficient and environmental elements of TC’s mandate. 

In support of policy-making, program development and decision-making, the Policy Group:

• has responsibility for the economic marketplace frameworks in the air, surface (rail and road), and marine industries, as well as multi-modal, environmental, accessibility and innovation and digitalization policies and standards for the transportation system;

• collects and analyzes data, and provides analysis and advice on transportation trends, system and supply chain performance, and stakeholder considerations;

• provides advice and secretariat support for appointments, along with a stewardship function and strategic policy advice on governance and accountability matters related to the Transport portfolio;

• coordinates and advances strategic and multi-modal policy analysis and advice for TC’s engagement on, for example: air transport agreements; international shipping; supply chain issues; intercity passenger rail; clean air and climate change; clean water; and adaptation to a changing climate;

• provides advice and analysis on federal-provincial-territorial relations, including supporting the federal co-chair of the intergovernmental transportation forum, the Council of Ministers Responsible for Transportation and Highway Safety;

• advances TC’s policy objectives and the interests of the Canadian transportation sector with key international partners, in international forums and through Canada’s trade agreement negotiations; supports the sharing of best practices to expand TC's understanding of transportation system issues from a North American and global perspective;

• undertakes investment and options analysis; performs market sounding and engagement activities; advises on strategic commercial decisions; leads outreach and engagement to potential project proponents; helps solicit, guide, evaluate and select potential proponents for funding programs (e.g., National Trade Corridors Fund); implements complex transactions; and supports large scale projects;

• coordinates strategic and horizontal initiatives in support of Budget letter, and Gender-based Analysis Plus;

• identifies how technology innovations and digitalization can offer transportation and mobility solutions and enhance the performance of the transportation supply chain, and works with stakeholders to assess policy and regulatory considerations as well as economic and social impacts;

• provides policy coordination and advice on northern transportation issues and leads TC’s implementation of the Government’s Arctic and Northern Policy Framework, including engagement with northern partners;

• provides analysis and advice on accessible transportation for persons with disabilities, and evaluates associated legislative and regulatory developments/requirements;

Profile:

Assistant Deputy Minister, Policy Group: Serge Bijimine

Associate Assistant Deputy Minister: Craig Hutton

Number of employees: 344 employees

Directorates:

• Air Policy 

• Crown Corporations and Portfolio Governance 

• Environmental Policy 

• International Relations, Intergovernmental Affairs, and Trade Policy 

• Marine Policy 

• Centre of Excellence on Strategic Investments 

• Strategic Policy and Innovation 

• Surface Transportation Policy 

• Transportation and Economic Analysis 

• Strategic Planning and Integration 

• Policy Community Partnerships Office 

Overview 

Air Policy

The Air Policy Directorate develops policy frameworks and manages related issues affecting air transport in Canada, and supports the negotiation of international air agreements.  The directorate's principal objective is to promote a healthy and competitive air transport industry, which includes airlines, airports and air navigation services providers, to ensure that Canadians have access to the air services they need. This objective recognizes the importance of air transport to other sectors in the Canadian economy and to Canada’s competitiveness abroad. Air Policy is also responsible for oversight and management of the Canadian Mission to the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) in Montreal.

Crown Corporation and Portfolio Governance 

The Crown Corporation and Portfolio Governance Directorate functions as a centre of expertise, providing information and advice on effective governance of the Crown corporations within the Transport portfolio. It serves as a primary point of contact to coordinate responses to issues facing a number of Crown corporations.  It also coordinates Ministerial and Governor in Council appointments for all organizations in the Minister's portfolio. The Transport portfolio consists of TC and 56 organizations: 9 Crown corporations; 43 shared-governance organizations; and, 4 administrative tribunals/agencies. 

Environmental Policy 

The Environmental Policy Directorate supports the delivery of the Government of Canada’s environmental priorities by leading a whole-of-government approach to develop policy, programs and regulations to decarbonize all modes of transportation (on-road, air, marine and rail).  Domestic actions are complemented by collaboration with governments and industry from around the world to enable decarbonization of transportation globally – while unlocking the essential role of transportation in moving the fuels and commodities required to decarbonize the economy across the country, and around the world.  The directorate also leads efforts, in collaboration with other groups in TC and internationally, to reduce the impact of marine transportation on the marine environment, including at-risk whales, and coordinates departmental efforts to support the establishment of federal marine protected areas. The directorate also supports teams across the department and the broader transportation sector, to adapt and strengthen resilience to climate change impacts and leads TC’s sustainable development planning and reporting.

International Relations, Intergovernmental Affairs, and Trade Policy

The International Relations, Intergovernmental Affairs, and Trade Policy Directorate advances TC policy objectives and engagement as part of an integrated government-wide approach, supporting the international and intergovernmental activities of the Minister and senior officials. The directorate leads the negotiation of transport issues in Canada’s free trade and investment agreements and provides policy advice on trade agreement obligations and risks. Playing a leadership role in international policy, the directorate provides strategic, horizontal advice on international issues and priorities, the management of bilateral and multilateral relationships, and advancement of Canada’s foreign policy goals. The directorate plans, coordinates, and delivers high-level international engagement, including policy, protocol, and logistics support, for the Minister, Parliamentary Secretary, Deputy Ministers, and Assistant Deputy Ministers of Policy. The directorate is also responsible for supporting federal-provincial-territorial engagement by providing advice and analysis on intergovernmental work related to transport priorities including supporting the Minister as co-chair of the Council of Ministers Responsible for Transportation and Highway Safety and the Deputy Minister as co-chair of the Deputy Minister table.

Marine Policy

The Marine Policy Directorate is responsible for marine economic policy direction and advice, and develops, administers and implements domestic marine policies, legislation and regulations as well as international  conventions. The directorate has responsibility for provision of evidence- based advice on marketplace frameworks that promote a competitive and sustainable marine shipping system including those pertaining to the 17 Canada Port Authorities and the St. Lawrence Seaway. The directorate also provides advice on emerging systemic issues, a number of Oceans Protection Plan initiatives and conducts economic analysis on various marine related projects and asset management files.

Centre of Excellence on Strategic Investments

The Centre of Excellence on Strategic Investments centralizes key resources, combining diverse, specialized skills to advance major initiatives across the department. It offers leadership and expertise in the commercial aspects of large-scale projects and investments. This includes conducting comprehensive financial analyses, risk assessments, transaction execution support, due diligence on commercial contract terms, and governance structure evaluations, using tools like PowerBI for data analysis and visualization. The primary role of Strategic Investments is to deliver strategic, evidence-based advice to departmental partners, thereby facilitating the successful completion of extensive projects and initiatives.

Strategic Policy and Innovation

The Strategic Policy and Innovation Directorate provides integrated policy leadership and direction through multimodal policy analysis, advice, research and serves a central role within the department on transportation innovation, northern transportation (i.e., the implementation of Canada's Arctic and Northern Policy Framework), accessibility, and multimodal and trade corridor issues and initiatives. Some of the directorate's responsibilities include: supporting the department’s work on transportation supply chain and trade corridor infrastructure issues and initiatives; leading on horizontal policy analysis and advice related to the Canadian Transportation Agency; conducting in-depth research and analysis to identify technological trends, industry developments and potential disruptive innovations in transportation; acting as policy lead on accessible and inclusive transportation for persons with disabilities and seniors, as well as labour and skills requirements related to Canada’s transportation sector; leading TC’s inputs and assessments for federal budgets and Speeches from the Throne; and serving as TC’s Gender Based Analysis Plus Centre of Excellence.

Surface Transportation Policy

Surface Transportation Policy Directorate aims to ensure that Canadians have an efficient and effective surface transportation system for the transportation of goods, passengers, and services – one which: enables connectivity and efficient flows; promotes integration between modes; and leverages innovation. It aims to achieve these outcomes through legislative and policy initiatives that balance commercial and public interests through a social, economic, and sustainable lens that includes collaboration among stakeholders. The directorate's responsibilities include: conducting ongoing work to enhance passenger and freight rail services across Canada, including by supporting advancement of the High Frequency Rail project led by the High Frequency Rail group, continuing to work with VIA Rail to ensure that passengers are adequately cared for during major service disruptions, , reviewing and analyzing Canada’s economic legislative and regulatory regime within the freight rail sector,  providing Ministerial support in fulfilling a statutory responsibility for assessing proposed mergers and acquisitions transactions under the Canada Transportation Act assessing proposed changes under the International Bridges and Tunnels Act and supporting  Canada-U.S border transportation collaboration, including the implementation of the preclearance treaty framework.

Transportation and Economic Analysis

Transportation and Economic Analysis provides analysis of the impacts of economic, transportation, and societal trends on the performance and capacity of the Canadian transportation system and supply chains; it is also responsible for data governance, collection, and analysis. Primarily, Transportation and Economic Analysis provides economic analysis on performance and capacity through monitoring and analyzing drivers of transportation and logistics demand, reports on the performance of the transportation system and the impacts of system disruptions, conducts analysis on key transportation topics, and engages/validates with academia, industry, F/P/Ts, and other stakeholders on opportunities and challenges for the transportation system.  Additionally, the branch provides forecasts on transportation demand, develops scenarios for risk  and vulnerability assessment in the transportation network, and leverages data science and AI capabilities to improve the department's predictive analysis capacity.

Strategic Planning and Integration

Strategic Planning and Integration serves as the focal point for coordinating and integrating horizontal corporate issues across all of the Policy Group. The unit provides leadership for strategic initiatives, including the provision of specialized advice, expertise and strategic direction for the Policy Group; coordination of the implementation of key initiatives under the Policy Group Strategic, Business and Human resources Plans; and coordination of Policy Group input into departmental planning and reporting requests.

Policy Community Partnerships Office

The Policy Community Partnerships Office was formed to support the Clerk’s Policy Community :Initiative launched in 2016 by the Clerk of the Privy Council. As a multidisciplinary team, the Policy Community Partnerships Office fosters knowledge exchange and strategic reflection to support policy practitioner development. It leads research projects collecting and sharing experiences, case studies, and emerging practices across all policy roles, ranging from strategic policy, research, and regulations to program operations and service delivery. In its effort to elevate adaptive policymaking practices throughout the federal public service, the Policy Community Partnerships Office designs and facilitates a range of community engagements to develop community insights, advice and learning products, while building a networked policy capacity within and beyond the Government of Canada. The Policy Community Partnerships Office benefits from funding support of over 30 federal departments through Memoranda of Understanding. Its governance structure comprises an interdepartmental Assistant Deputy Minister Steering Committee chaired by the Policy Community Champion, Serge Bijimine, and Policy United, an Assembly of funding departments. Since October 24, 2022, the Policy Community Partnerships Office has been based at TC.