A parliamentary committee voted Monday to launch a study into the causes behind Canada’s chaotic holiday travel season and to hear not only from industry giants, but also from some of the passengers who saw their plans upended.
Members of the federal transport committee met to discuss the scope of the study, which all agreed was necessary given the widespread disruptions that plagued thousands of passengers who travelled by air and train last month and into January.
In the lead up to Christmas Day, a winter storm swept across parts of Canada, complicating travel plans for both providers and passengers during one of the busiest travel times of the year.
But those sitting around the virtual committee table focused less on the weather than on the service passengers received.
Some said they heard directly from constituents who were unable to get answers from airlines after having their flights cancelled and found themselves sleeping on airport floors and shuffled between hotels. Others ended up stuck on trains for hours.
“Passengers were an afterthought,” said Conservative MP Mark Strahl. “The system completely failed.”
Committee MPs voted to invite representatives from Air Canada, WestJet, Sunwing and Via Rail to testify, as well as leaders of airport authorities in Vancouver, Toronto, and Montreal.
They also requested to hear from affected travellers, passengers’ advocates and the Canadian Transportation Agency, a regulator that the committee heard is facing a backlog of more than 30,000 complaints.
NDP MP Taylor Bachrach said the regulatory system in place to protect airline passengers and stipulate when companies must provide compensation for delays and cancellations is “deeply flawed.”
He said he wants to hear directly from Transport Minister Omar Alghabra about when he plans to table changes to the current regime – something the minister suggested could be coming in media interviews last week.
Federal Conservatives say Alghabra must answer for the fact this was the second travel season in a row in which thousands of passengers saw their trips interrupted by lost bags and delayed or cancelled flights.
The first was last summer, which marked the first major return of domestic and international air travel in Canada since the COVID-19 pandemic arrived in March 2020.
At the time, airlines and airports said they were struggling with labour shortages brought on by travel restrictions during the first two years of the pandemic, which led to widespread layoffs.
The study is set to begin Thursday, despite the House of Commons not returning until the end of January.
Alghabra plans to attend a future meeting as well, after calls from Conservative and New Democrat MPs who say he must answer for how his Liberal government responded to the widespread disruptions and how passengers were treated.
In media interviews last week, Alghabra said the federal government was eyeing ways to strengthen protections for passengers who regulations stipulate are entitled to compensation from airlines when their flights are delayed or cancelled.
Prime Minster Justin Trudeau’s government is also facing calls to clear the backlog of complaints the Canadian Transportation Agency faces in hopes of more quickly resolving claims.