Disgruntled air travellers will soon have an extra ear to hear their complaints thanks to additional funding from the federal government for the Canadian Transport Agency. Ottawa says the $75.9 million funding over three years, starting in 2023-24, will help strengthen passenger rights by giving the Agency additional resources to reduce the backlog of existing complaints, including hiring 200 more staff.

The funding is intended to “ensure the agency has the resources to address passenger rights complaints, and strengthen the operation of the federal transportation network, enabling the Agency to efficiently deliver on its mandate for Canadians,” says the government.

It follows $11 million given to the Agency in last year’s budget, however, there are still 42,000 complaints currently filed.

Transport minister Omar Alghabra says the federal government will also close a loophole that allows airlines to deny customers compensation for cancelled flights based on safety-related issues – a reform that will come as part of an overhaul of passenger rights to be tabled in Parliament this spring.

Alghabra said, “Travellers have rights, and these rights must be respected by airlines. When airlines do not provide the reimbursement or compensation to which travellers are entitled, the Canadian Transportation Agency is there to ensure passenger rights are respected. Today’s announcement helps give the Agency more resources to deal with complaints and ensure the rules are respected.”

In 2019, Canada adopted an air passenger rights regime called the Air Passenger Protection Regulations (APPR), which clarified minimum requirements and compensation based on whether an airline has control over the disruption or not.

In 2022, the government strengthened those rights to include refunds for situations outside the airline’s control, including major weather events or a pandemic.

Airlines, however, have been exempted from compensation when delays or cancellations were caused by safety issues.

“These changes will place Canada at the forefront of passenger protections globally and, together with other steps to be taken, will help prevent the frustrating passenger experiences of last summer and over the holiday season,” the government says.