In the interest of the protecting the rights of all Canadian travellers, allow me to digress from the topic of collecting and redeeming points as what I am going to share will affect all of us when we are travelling.
Transport Minister Marc Garneau announced draft regulations based on the new legislation passed in May of last year. Later, on December 17, 2018, the government announced their proposed regulations for what they are calling a “best in the world” Air Passenger Bill of Rights.
The government is touting this as the “best in the world.”
Similar statements were echoed when I personally spoke to my Liberal MP and he made it sound like these proposed changes are the next best thing since sliced bread.
So let’s take a deep dive and see why the proposed regulations are actually a step back for Canadian travellers and one that leaves us at the mercy of airlines with almost no recourse, mainly in areas of:
a. compensation for delays & cancellations
b. denied boarding
c. lost baggage
and
finally, we will do a comparison to Europe regulations.
Thank you to Gabor Lukacs of Air Passenger Rights for his guidance on this article as I expand on these four main points below.
Here we go….
If you are well versed with the Bill and want to skip to what two actions you need to take, please scroll to the bottom
I. Tarmac Delays.
The Government claims that the current 90-minute tarmac limit is not legally binding on airlines.
Let’s examine this one in detail first.
There has been a code of conduct for 10+ years among all airlines in Canada allowing for a maximum time on the tarmac for 90 minutes. So, since 2008, this code of conduct existed and the airlines introduced it as part of their tariff. Consequently, they are legally binding as per s. 67(3) of the Canada Transportation Act and s. 110(4) of the Air Transportation Regulations.
Air Canada is currently facing a regulatory complaint for unreasonably changing its terms and conditions by removing it from their tariff to keep passengers on the tarmac for up to 4 hours.
So, can someone please explain to me how changing the limit from 90 minutes to almost 4 hours is better for Canadians? This is definitely detrimental to the elderly, frail, diabetics, toddlers and babies who must spend almost 4 hours stuck on the tarmac for what could have been a flight of less than an hour when flying short haul.
As an example, please note, Air Transat was fined for breaking this rule for $295,000, confirming that it is binding (although the fine was waived by the corrupt CTA on the same day).
In other words, if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.
II. Compensation for Flight Delays and Cancellations
The Government claims that the EU intended to exclude compensation for flight delays and cancellations caused by maintenance issues.
Let us examine this one next.
The European Court of Justice held the contrary:
It is apparent from that statement in the preamble to Regulation No 261/2004 that the Community legislature did not mean that those events, the list of which is indeed only indicative, themselves constitute extraordinary circumstances, but only that they may produce such circumstances.
The danger here is that airlines will be forced to fly under unsafe conditions to circumvent paying compensation. It is the lack of compensation that undermines safety. Safety should always be paramount and not come at the cost of corporate profits and passenger safety.
See related articles:
1. Airline mechanics speak out on safety issues.
2. Loophole in proposed passenger rights bill could put air travellers at risk
3. The government’s plan not to compensate passengers for maintenance delays frightens me
III. Compensation for Lost/Delayed Baggage
Lets see what happening here.
At the outset let me preface by saying this is the airlines fault for misleading the passengers but the Government is complicit in the sense that it is not enforcing the rules to protect the passengers and allowing airlines to get away scot-free.
We have seen several instances where passengers are being misinformed about their rights and compensation limits when their baggage is delayed or lost. They are being told of incremental daily limits of $100-$200 while one is entitled to the limit under the Montreal Convention for 1131 Special Drawing Rights which is approx. CAD $2,100 depending on the exchange rate.
See related article
Air Canada accused of ‘lying’ to customers to avoid paying up to $2100 for lost luggage
Finally, the Government claims their new regulations are the “best in the world.”
Whatcha talking about Willis ?!?
The Government’s proposed regulations will put us way behind compared Europe so there is no truth at all in stating that Canada will have the best regulations in the world.
Here are some illustrations prepared by Air Passenger Rights that state otherwise.
So how can this be better when there are more X’s under Canada than Europe?
Time to take action!! Deadline is February 20, 2019.
So, what do you do to fight for your rights as a Canadian air passenger?
1.Tell the government you want real air passenger rights.
Click here to be guided to your MP and the suggested text for the email.
(You will be redirected to Air Passenger Rights website to submit your comments)
2.Support AirPassengerRights by any amount of donation to help Gabor Lukacs fight the good fight for us by clicking on this link.
(You will be redirected to Air Passenger Rights website to make your donation)
Lets be instrumental to bring about positive changes and make flying stress free and fun again.