Regulations Repealing the Airport Vehicle Parking Charges Regulations: SOR/2026-182

Canada Gazette, Part II, Volume 160, Number 18

Registration
SOR/2026-182 August 25, 2026

AERONAUTICS ACT

The Minister of Transport makes the annexed Regulations Repealing the Airport Vehicle Parking Charges Regulations under subsection 4.4(2)footnote a of the Aeronautics Act footnote b and section 2 of the Ministerial Regulations Authorization Order footnote c.

Ottawa, May 12, 2026

Steven MacKinnon
Minister of Transport

Regulations Repealing the Airport Vehicle Parking Charges Regulations

Repeal

1 The Airport Vehicle Parking Charges Regulations footnote 1 are repealed.

Coming into Force

2 These Regulations come into force on the day on which they are published in the Canada Gazette, Part II.

REGULATORY IMPACT ANALYSIS STATEMENT

(This statement is not part of the Regulations.)

Issues

As the Airport Vehicle Parking Charges Regulations (the Regulations) were last amended in 2012, the charges set by these regulations do not reflect current market rates for parking. The annual costs of operating the five airports owned and operated by Transport Canada (TC or the Department), listed in the schedule of the Regulations, are growing, and these airports are presently running at a deficit.

Updating the parking charges via the Regulations is a long and resource-intensive process, and amendments to the Aeronautics Act made in 2017 allow the Minister of Transport (the Minister) to spend revenue collected from fees set by contract in the same or following fiscal year. Setting fees for vehicle parking at TC-owned and operated airports via contracts would allow for more timely updates to match market rates. However, it would be confusing to the user as well as open Transport Canada to legal liability to set fees by contract via the Aeronautics Act at these five airports while the Regulations remain in place.

Background

As of 2017, subsection 4.401(1) of the Aeronautics Act provides the Minister of Transport with the authority to enter into agreements (contracts) for cost recovery purposes for the use of any facility or service provided on behalf of the Minister at any aerodrome, and subsection 4.401(5) enables the Minister to spend any such revenue collected in the same or next fiscal year. The Aeronautics Act goes on to further state in subsection 4.401(2), “If both an agreement entered into under subsection (1) and a regulation made under subsection 4.4(1) or (2) relate to the same matter, the regulation does not apply…”. While this section is clear in that the Regulations do not require repealing in order to increase vehicle parking rates under subsection 4.401(1) of the Aeronautics Act, the Regulations are nonetheless being repealed to reduce any perceived ambiguity that would arise from implementing updated vehicle parking rates while leaving in place the antiquated Regulations.

The agreement fulfilling subsection 4.401(1) of the Aeronautics Act will be between Transport Canada and the user to provide parking at a parking facility on airport land via the posted terms and conditions of sale for the determined fee. The user is deemed to have entered into a contract of adhesion with Transport Canada, simply by purchasing the parking ticket and thereby having agreed to the terms and conditions associated with the provision of that parking service. The new fees will be reflective of benchmarking against parking facilities at similar airports/communities and allow Transport Canada to recover a greater proportion of the costs associated with providing these services than presently set in the Regulations, reducing the burden on Canadian taxpayers.

Along with the existing authority to charge fees by contract, the Minister has the direct authority to repeal the Regulations, via subsection 4.4(2) of the Aeronautics Act and section 2 of the Ministerial Regulations Authorization Order, made by Order in Council P.C. 1986-1348 of June 5, 1986.

Objective

The intent of the Regulations Repealing the Airport Vehicle Charges Regulations is to repeal the Regulations to allow Transport Canada to align parking fees at the five TC-owned and operated airports listed in the schedule of the Regulations with market rates in a more timely manner, through existing authorities for cost recovery in the Aeronautics Act, without the risk of confusing users by leaving the obsolete Regulations in place.

Description

The Airport Vehicle Parking Charges Regulations are repealed in their entirety. The Regulations set out the vehicle parking fees at five airports owned and operated by Transport Canada:

Regulatory development

Consultation

Stakeholders for this regulation are limited in scope, namely those users of the airports and the associated communities. Repealing the Regulations will allow TC to adjust parking fees at the airports via agreements to reflect market-appropriate based rates, though it is not anticipated that it will have a marked impact on users of the airport (the fee is not a mandatory expense, as parking at an airport is a voluntary activity and users have other options, such as taxis or rideshares, or other means, such as getting dropped off or picked up by family or friends to get to and from the airport). A stakeholder mapping exercise was conducted to identify groups to consult with on the proposal. Stakeholders were identified as follows:

Consultations took place between August 2 and October 4, 2024, and included social media postings, posters in the affected airports, targeted emails to stakeholders inviting comments on the proposal, as well as emails to potentially impacted Indigenous groups. Seven responses were received from members of the public. This feedback was predominantly focused on the potential for market-based (i.e. higher) rates than what is presently charged under the Regulations, with all who provided feedback indicating that they opposed higher rates. This feedback will be taken into consideration when setting the rates going forward, but is outside the scope of this specific project, which will only repeal the Regulations.

As an administrative and low-impact regulatory proposal for which further consultations are unlikely to yield new results, prepublication in the Canada Gazette, Part I, is not required.

Indigenous engagement, consultation and modern treaty obligations

In accordance with the Cabinet Directive on the Federal Approach to Modern Treaty Implementation, analysis was undertaken to determine whether the repeal is likely to give rise to modern treaty obligations. This assessment examined the geographic scope and subject matter of the repeal in relation to modern treaties in effect.

The repeal is applicable to five TC-owned airports and none of them are located in modern treaty areas. However, to achieve the Government’s reconciliation objectives and as good governance, nearby Indigenous communities and treaty governments will be engaged to solicit their advice in making decisions.

Instrument choice

The current vehicle parking fees are set by the Regulations, and while the authorities to enter agreements under the Aeronautics Act could be used to change fees at the five airports despite the Regulations remaining in place, it would cause confusion for vehicle parking users if Transport Canada were to supersede the Regulations in this manner. In an effort to be as transparent as possible, Transport Canada will opt to actively utilize a single authority for these fees. Therefore, Transport Canada will first repeal the Regulations, and immediately upon repeal rely on the existing provisions in the Aeronautics Act to then continue charging for the same purpose.

The current Regulations are limited to specifying charges for vehicle parking at five airport properties, and it would cause confusion were Transport Canada to decide to begin charging at any other of its owned and operated airports under the Aeronautics Act at present. The differing charging authorities would result in inconsistent pricing deviation across parking facilities at TC-owned and operated airports, as implementation of market rates at newly added airport facilities would be comparatively greater than the outdated existing charges. Additionally, changes to the overall parking fees would need to be made through two separate fee-setting authorities, with the regulatory process being required as long as the Regulations remain in place. Repealing the Regulations in favour of using the authorities granted in the Aeronautics Act would avoid this issue and would allow the Department to more efficiently undertake parking rate adjustments as necessary.

Both the status quo (i.e. leaving the rates at present levels) as well as amending the Regulations to potentially increase rates in the future were considered. The current pricing levels provide minimal revenue for the purpose of reinvestment in the airports; the public purse would likely benefit by increasing vehicle parking fees to market rates. Transport Canada endeavoured to utilize the least burdensome and most adaptable process to adjust rates in line with the market going forward. The 2017 changes to the Aeronautics Act enable the Minister to recover costs for vehicle parking at Transport Canada-owned and operated airports, which effectively enables the setting of fees on a contractual rather than regulatory basis. This will allow Transport Canada to amend vehicle parking rates without a regulatory amendment, with the added benefit of minimizing administrative procedures for other Transport Canada-owned and operated airports to likewise engage in this initiative to provide revenue for the purpose of reinvestment.

Regulatory analysis

Repealing the Regulations will allow the Minister to use the authorities granted in the Aeronautics Act to set charges for parking services at five TC-owned and operated airports via contracts, instead of setting fees through the regulatory process, without creating confusion among users.

This repeal is administrative in nature and is not expected to directly affect stakeholders. The repeal of the Regulations will take effect upon publication in the Canada Gazette, Part II, with parking charges being introduced concurrently under the authority granted to the Minister under the Aeronautics Act.

Exercising the authority granted under the Act will allow TC to modernize vehicle parking charges efficiently, enabling the recovery of a larger share of the costs associated with these services through user-pay principles, thereby alleviating the financial burden on taxpayers. However, the potential impacts of setting service charges under the Aeronautics Act fall outside the scope of this proposal and are not addressed in this analysis.

Analytical framework

The costs and benefits association with repealing the Regulations have been assessed in accordance with the Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat’s Policy on Cost-Benefit Analysis. Where possible, impacts are quantified and monetized, with only the direct costs and benefits for stakeholders being considered in the cost-benefit analysis.

Benefits and costs associated with repealing the Regulations are assessed based on comparing the baseline scenario against the regulatory scenario. The baseline scenario depicts what is likely to happen in the future if the Government of Canada does not repeal the Regulations. The regulatory scenario provides information on the expected outcomes of repealing the Regulations. Details are further discussed below.

Affected stakeholders

The Regulations have a narrow scope, affecting parking service users at the five affected airports. The repeal will not impact these users, as parking charges will be introduced concurrently under the authority granted to the Minister through the Aeronautics Act. However, once the repeal is completed, it is expected that TC will adjust the charges to market values.footnote 2 Users of the airports include

Baseline and regulatory scenarios

Under the baseline scenario, the Minister has the authority to set service charges for parking services through the Aeronautics Act. However, the Department would continue to set the parking charges via the Regulations. Therefore, under the baseline scenario, the parking charges schedule would continue to be revised at the five TC-owned and operated airports via regulatory amendments, which is a long and resource-intensive process.

Under the regulatory scenario, the Regulations will be repealed. Concurrently, the Minister will be setting parking charges using the authorization under the Aeronautics Act. It is expected that TC will likely change fees for parking services to users of the five affected airports to match market prices on a more frequent basis.

Costs

No direct costs are expected to repeal the Regulations. However, parking charges are expected to be adjusted more frequently through the authority granted under the Aeronautics Act. As a result, it is expected that airport parking users will experience more frequent and faster changes in parking rates and eventually incur additional costs related to an increase in parking charges.footnote 3 In addition, individuals and businesses may forgo parking at the airport or purchasing a long-term pass if there is a rate increase, which would potentially impact demand for parking services at these airports. However, these impacts are not included in this analysis, as they are outside of the scope of this proposal.

Benefits

Repealing the Regulations will enable the Department to adjust the parking charges more efficiently and frequently to continue having them reflect current market rates for parking. Additionally, it will eliminate confusion by consolidating the authority to set parking charges under the Aeronautics Act, instead of having two separate fee-setting mechanisms.

Small business lens

Analysis under the small business lens concluded that the repeal of the Airport Vehicle Parking Charges Regulations will not impact Canadian small businesses.

It is important to note that the introduction of parking charges under the authority of the Aeronautics Act, in conjunction with the repeal of the Regulations, may potentially impact small businesses. This is due to the expected more frequent and faster adjustments to market value to parking rates. However, this impact is outside of the scope of this proposal and is not accounted for in this analysis.

One-for-one rule

The one for one rule applies, since a regulatory title is repealed. There is no incremental change in administrative burden on businesses, and the repeal is considered a title out. The following regulatory title will be repealed:

As a result, a net of one title out is counted under the rule.

Regulatory cooperation and alignment

The repeal is not related to a work plan or commitment under a formal regulatory cooperation forum, as it does not require alignment with other regulatory jurisdictions.

Effects on the environment

In accordance with the Cabinet Directive on Strategic Environmental and Economic Assessment, the strategic environmental and economic assessment (SEEA) process was followed for this proposal and a Climate, Nature, and Economy Lens was completed. No important environmental or economic effects are anticipated as a result of this proposal.

Gender-based analysis plus

A gender-based analysis plus (GBA+) was completed for the repeal. Given Transport Canada will retain the authority to charge for vehicle parking at its owned and operated airports, the repeal of the Regulations will have no discernable impact based on distributional factors (such as gender, age, education, language, geography, culture, and income). However, there may be impacts should the Department choose to implement market-based parking rates for reinvestment purposes going forward. As the affected airports are located in communities where individuals may have less income when compared to major centres, communities (including Indigenous communities) may be negatively impacted by having to pay more for parking services than they had in the past, albeit parking at the airports is voluntary and on a per-use basis where alternatives exist. These considerations will be taken into account during the process of fixing future vehicle parking fees.

Implementation, compliance and enforcement, and service standards

Implementation

The repeal of the Regulations will take effect upon publication in the Canada Gazette, Part II. Transport Canada will continue to charge for vehicle parking at its airports as authorized by the Aeronautics Act. There are no changes anticipated to Transport Canada’s work with partner institutions or applicable cooperation and coordination. Adjusted parking fees based on market rates will be implemented following the repeal. Performance measurement of parking fees will continue to fall within the existing performance framework as dictated by the Service Fees Act, under which Transport Canada develops an annual Fees Report. However, the reporting will be included with other fees set by contract rather than the specific fees under the Airport Vehicle Parking Charges Regulations.

Compliance and enforcement

The repeal of the Regulations does not alter Transport Canada’s authorities for compliance or enforcement at its owned and operated airports, which are authorized under separate regulations, the Traffic on the Land Side of Airports Regulations, which regulate the designation of vehicle parking areas at airports, the issuance of permits for vehicle parking, as well as outlining enforcement provisions and fines for contravention of these regulations.

Service standards

Transport Canada has a service standard for providing vehicle parking facilities at owned and managed airports. The standard states that vehicle parking areas located at Transport Canada’s owned and managed airports will be available for use on a first come, first served basis. The repeal of the Airport Vehicle Parking Charges Regulations does not alter or impact the Department’s standard to provide for vehicle parking at its airports.

Contact

Executive Director
Operations and Authorities Stewardship
Air, Marine and Environmental Programs
Transport Canada
Email: TC.airportparking-stationnementaeroport.TC@tc.gc.ca