P-9.001 - Act respecting transport infrastructure partnerships

Updated to 4 December 2009

This document has official status.

chapter P-9.001

Act respecting transport infrastructure partnerships

CHAPTER I PARTNERSHIP PROJECT AND AGREEMENT

1. This Act applies to any long term partnership agreement between the Government and a private enterprise for the construction, repair or operation of a transport infrastructure. Such an agreement must involve the sharing of risks between the Government and the private sector.

Subject to the Act respecting the Ministère du Conseil exécutif (chapter M-30), another government or municipality may also be a party to such an agreement.

2000, c. 49, s. 1.

1.1. Section 8 of the Act respecting the Agence des partenariats public-privé du Québec (chapter A-7.002) applies to a partnership agreement that constitutes a public-private partnership contract within the meaning of that Act, except in the cases and subject to the conditions determined by the Government.

2004, c. 32, s. 54.

2. The Minister, with the authorization of the Government, shall define the partnership project and, subject to the Act respecting contracting by public bodies (chapter C-65.1), determine the rules that apply thereto.

2000, c. 49, s. 2; 2006, c. 29, s. 52.

3. The proposals submitted by potential partners shall be assessed according to the criteria and procedure determined by the Minister, as approved by the Government and stated in the tender solicitation documents.

2000, c. 49, s. 3; 2009, c. 48, s. 1.

4. The Minister may, for the purposes of a partnership project, acquire by agreement or by expropriation or lease any property the Minister deems useful. The Minister may, for the same purposes, dispose of any government property under the Minister’s authority.

2000, c. 49, s. 4; 2009, c. 48, s. 2.

5. The Minister may, with the authorization of the Government and on the terms and conditions it determines, enter into a transport infrastructure partnership agreement.

2000, c. 49, s. 5; 2004, c. 32, s. 55.

6. Every corporeal property and work acquired, built or operated by a partner under this Act shall remain or become the property of the Government upon the expiry of the partnership agreement.

However, the Government may, by an order published in the Gazette officielle du Québec, entrust all or part of the management of a road infrastructure constructed under this Act to a municipality, which, in that case, shall exercise the powers provided for in the Municipal Powers Act (chapter C-47.1).

2000, c. 49, s. 6; 2009, c. 48, s. 3.

7. Any road infrastructure operated under a partnership agreement is a public highway within the meaning of section 4 of the Highway Safety Code (chapter C‐24.2) ; the said Code, as well as any other Act applicable to public highways, applies to the road infrastructure as if it were a public highway maintained by the Minister of Transport.

For the purposes of the said Code, a partner operating a road infrastructure is deemed to be the person responsible for the maintenance of that public highway.

2000, c. 49, s. 7.

8. The Minister may, in a partnership agreement and on the conditions the Minister determines, delegate to a partner all or part of the Minister’s powers under the Act respecting the Ministère des Transports (chapter M-28) and the Act respecting roads (chapter V-9) and regarding the operation of a road infrastructure.

The Minister may also, on the conditions the Minister determines, authorize the partner to delegate those powers to another person.

However, a partner or partner’s delegate is not a mandatary of the State and no legal action may be taken against the State for damage caused by a partner or partner’s delegate in the exercise of a power delegated by the Minister or resulting from any instrument entered into under the partnership agreement.

2000, c. 49, s. 8; 2009, c. 48, s. 4.

8.1. All complaints received by a partner must be treated fairly. To this end, the partner must adopt a complaints examination policy.

2009, c. 48, s. 5.

8.2. A person dissatisfied with the way a complaint addressed to a partner has been examined or treated may take the matter to the Minister.

The Minister may make recommendations to the partner concerning the complaint in question.

2009, c. 48, s. 5.

9. In case of resiliation of a partnership agreement, the Minister may exercise all powers and rights and perform all obligations relating thereto, subject to the conditions and for the period fixed by the Government.

2000, c. 49, s. 9.

10. Every partnership agreement entered into by the Minister shall be tabled by the Minister in the competent parliamentary committee of the National Assembly within 30 days of its signature.

2000, c. 49, s. 10.

CHAPTER II ROAD TOLLS

11. The Government may, by regulation, in respect of a road infrastructure referred to in section 7, establish standards concerning

(1)  the establishment of the tolls, fees and interest rates referred to in section 12;

(2)  the nature, components, construction and mode of operation of toll devices;

(3)  the nature, quality and use of devices or equipment used to identify a vehicle at a toll station;

(4)  the registration and distribution of transponders; and

(5)  the verification or certification, by a designated body, of toll devices or devices or equipment used to identify a road vehicle at a toll station.

The Government may also, by regulation, exempt any road vehicle or class of road vehicle from the payment of a toll.

2000, c. 49, s. 11; 2009, c. 48, s. 6.

12. A partner may, subject to the regulations made under subparagraph 1 of the first paragraph and the second paragraph of section 11,

(1)  establish, collect and enforce payment of tolls with respect to the operation of any road vehicle or class of road vehicle on a road infrastructure designated by the Minister;

(2)  establish, collect and enforce payment of administration fees relating to the collection and enforced payment of tolls; and

(3)  establish interest rates to be charged on unpaid tolls and fees, and collect interest charged at those rates.

A partner may also take photographs identifying a vehicle at a toll station. The camera used must be positioned such as to protect the identity of the occupants of the vehicle.

Before communicating a photograph described in the second paragraph, the partner must ensure that the photograph shows the road vehicle’s registration plate but does not allow the occupants of the vehicle to be seen.

2000, c. 49, s. 12; 2009, c. 48, s. 7.

13. A toll and related fees and interest payable under this Act for the operation of a road vehicle on a designated road infrastructure shall be paid to the partner

(1)  by the person in whose name a transponder is registered for the road vehicle, if the device is in the vehicle and functioning;

(2)  by the holder of an anonymous transponder, if the device is in the road vehicle and functioning and there is no functioning transponder registered for the vehicle in the vehicle;

(3)  by the holder of a customer account, opened with the partner, to which the passages of the road vehicle are charged, if there is no functioning transponder registered for the vehicle or functioning anonymous transponder in the vehicle;

(4)  by the driver of the road vehicle, if the installations allow the driver to pay the toll at the time of passage, there is no functioning transponder registered for the vehicle or functioning anonymous transponder in the vehicle, and no customer account to which the passages of the vehicle are charged has been opened with the partner;

(5)  by the holder of the registration certificate for the road vehicle, if the driver fails to pay the toll as required under paragraph 4 and no statement of offence is issued to the driver by a peace officer at the time of the offence; and

(6)  by the holder of the registration certificate for the road vehicle, in all other cases.

2000, c. 49, s. 13; 2009, c. 48, s. 8.

14. The obligation to pay a toll is incurred as soon as a road vehicle enters a designated infrastructure.

2000, c. 49, s. 14; 2009, c. 48, s. 9.

15. A partner is authorized to collect, from the Société de l’assurance automobile du Québec or, if the road vehicle is not registered in Québec, from any administrative authority responsible for the registration of the vehicle or any body composed of representatives of the ministers responsible for transport or highway safety, and solely for the purpose of collecting or enforcing payment of a toll, the following personal information concerning the holder of a registration certificate issued with respect to a road vehicle:

(1)  the name and address of the holder;

(2)  the particulars identifying the road vehicle;

(3)  the class of the road vehicle; and

(4)  the file number of the person in whose name the road vehicle is registered with the Société de l’assurance automobile du Québec.

2000, c. 49, s. 15; 2009, c. 48, s. 10.

16. The tolls, fees and interest collected by a partner or on a partner’s behalf belong to the partner, unless otherwise provided by the partnership agreement.

If the partnership agreement provides that some or all the tolls and fees required under this Act belong to the State, the amounts belonging to the State are paid into the transport infrastructure partnership fund established under paragraph 3 of section 12.30 of the Act respecting the Ministère des Transports (chapter M-28).

2000, c. 49, s. 16; 2009, c. 48, s. 11.

16.1. If a partnership agreement provides that some or all of the tolls and fees collected by the partner belong to the State, the partner is deemed to hold the amounts belonging to the State in trust for the State for payment into the transport infrastructure partnership fund. These amounts must be considered as forming a fund separate from the partner’s own patrimony and property, whether or not they have in fact been held separately from the partner’s own funds and assets.

2009, c. 48, s. 12.

16.2. The Minister may, by regulation, determine the personal information that a partner is authorized to collect from a person in whose name a transponder is registered or from the holder of a customer account.

2009, c. 48, s. 12.

17. A partner may neither use nor transmit to another person the personal information collected within the scope of a partnership agreement otherwise than for the purpose of collecting or enforcing payment of a toll.

A partner must destroy all personal information, including a photograph taken under section 12, no later than three years after payment of the toll, unless such payment is contested.

2000, c. 49, s. 17; 2009, c. 48, s. 13.

18. A person described in paragraph 4 of section 13 must pay the toll at the time of passage on a designated infrastructure whose installations allow the toll to be paid at that time.

2000, c. 49, s. 18; 2009, c. 48, s. 14.

19. A person described in paragraph 1, 3 or 6 of section 13 must pay the toll and related fees upon receiving a demand for payment to that effect.

Such a demand for payment must be sent to the person within 30 days of the passage of the road vehicle on the designated infrastructure and must

(1)  set out the place, date and time the passage was recorded;

(2)  state that the partner will send the person a photograph showing the road vehicle’s registration plate but not allowing the occupants of the vehicle to be seen and indicating the place, date and time the passage was recorded, upon receipt of a written request and the additional fee prescribed by government regulation; and

(3)  specify that failure to pay within 30 days of the sending of the demand for payment or, as applicable, of the photograph may result in penal proceedings.

In the case of a person described in paragraph 1 or 3 of section 13, the demand for payment is sent to the last address the person gave to the partner.

In the case of a person described in paragraph 6 of section 13, the demand for payment is sent to the last address listed for the person in the records of the Société de l’assurance automobile du Québec or, if applicable, in the records kept outside Québec by the administrative authority responsible for the registration of the vehicle.

If the agreement between the partner and either the person in whose name a transponder is registered or the holder of a customer account, as applicable, provides that tolls for passages detected by the transponder are paid at the time of passage, a demand for payment referred to in the first paragraph is sent only if the person or holder is in default.

2000, c. 49, s. 19; 2009, c. 48, s. 14.

20. The Minister may designate from among the partner’s employees who meet the conditions determined by government regulation a person to be entrusted with the enforcement of this Act for the purposes of drawing up offence reports referred to in article 62 of the Code of Penal Procedure (chapter C-25.1).

A person designated under the first paragraph is not authorized to exercise the powers provided for in Chapters II and III of that Code.

2000, c. 49, s. 20; 2009, c. 48, s. 14.

21. (Replaced).

2000, c. 49, s. 21; 2009, c. 48, s. 14.

22. (Replaced).

2000, c. 49, s. 22; 2009, c. 48, s. 14.

23. (Replaced).

2000, c. 49, s. 23; 2009, c. 48, s. 14.

24. The partner shall compensate the Société, according to the terms fixed by agreement with the Société, for disbursements made by the Société in carrying out its responsibilities under this Act.

2000, c. 49, s. 24.

CHAPTER III MISCELLANEOUS PROVISIONS

25. (Amendment integrated into c. C-24.2, s. 31.1).

2000, c. 49, s. 25.

26. (Amendment integrated into c. C-24.2, s. 417.1).

2000, c. 49, s. 26.

27. (Amendment integrated into c. C-24.2, s. 648).

2000, c. 49, s. 27.

28. (Amendment integrated into c. J-3, Schedule IV).

2000, c. 49, s. 28.

29. (Amendment integrated into c. S-11.011, s. 17).

2000, c. 49, s. 29.

CHAPTER IV FINAL PROVISIONS

30. The Minister of Transport is responsible for the administration of this Act.

2000, c. 49, s. 30.

31. (Omitted).

2000, c. 49, s. 31.

REPEAL SCHEDULES

In accordance with section 9 of the Act respecting the consolidation of the statutes and regulations (chapter R-3), chapter 49 of the statutes of 2000, in force on 1 April 2001, is repealed, except section 31, effective from the coming into force of chapter P-9.001 of the Revised Statutes.

In accordance with section 9 of the Act respecting the consolidation of the statutes and regulations (chapter R-3), sections 23 to 27 and 29 of chapter 49 of the statutes of 2000, to the extent in force on 1 August 2008, are repealed effective from the coming into force of the updating to 1 August 2008 of chapter P-9.001 of the Revised Statutes.