Canadian law offers a variety of remedies to shippers who are reliant upon rail transportation but are dissatisfied with freight rates, ancillary charges and conditions or the quality of service offered by their rail carrier. This document provides an overview of those remedies in relation to federally regulated railways such as CN and CP, who are subject to the Canada Transportation Act (CTA.) A list of all railway companies subject to this legislation is available on the Agency's website at http://www.cta-otc.gc.ca/rail-ferro/companies/companies_e.html. In some provinces shippers who contract directly with a provincial short line may have similar remedies available to them under provincial laws.

Which particular remedy will afford the best recourse depends on the nature of the problem or dispute encountered as well as the particular circumstances of the case. The following table identifies the available remedies and the types of issues that may be addressed using them.