Bill C-49 – Air Passenger Rights Bill and More

On May 16^th, the Minister of Transport introduced Bill C-49, which includes a passenger bill of rights as part of a package of amendments to the Canada Transportation Act.

Consumer passenger rights advocate Gabor Lukas says “this bill is smoke, mirrors and [has] no teeth”. (*1) The bill contains no provisions about the enforcement of the rights of travelers, nor any new sanctions against airlines that break the rules. The bill simply instructs the Canadian Transportation Agency to establish standards in the future. It is anticipated that the Agency will simply put into regulation what it has been deciding in the prior years when complaints have been made to it by the public. It is expected that the new legislation won’t come into effect until 2018.

The legislation also increases the cap on foreign ownership of airlines to 49 per cent from 25 per cent, and introduces new allowances for airlines to enter into joint ventures with international carriers to do things such as share marketing and scheduling.

The passenger rights section of Bill C-49 provides:

Regulations — carrier’s obligations towards passengers

Règlements — obligations des transporteurs aériens envers les passagers

86.11 (1) The Agency shall, after consulting with the Minister, make regulations in relation to flights to, from and within Canada, including connecting flights,

(a) respecting the carrier’s obligation to make terms and conditions of carriage and information regarding any recourse available against the carrier, as specified

in the regulations, readily available to passengers in language that is simple, clear and concise;

(b) respecting the carrier’s obligations in the case of flight delay, flight cancellation of denial of boarding, including

(i) the minimum standards of treatment of passengers that the carrier is required to meet and the minimum compensation the carrier is required to pay for inconvenience when the delay, cancellation or denial of boarding is within the carrier’s control,

(ii) the minimum standards of treatment of passengers that the carrier is required to meet when the   delay, cancellation or denial of boarding is within the carrier’s control, but is required for safety purposes, including in situations of mechanical malfunctions

(iii) the carrier’s obligation to ensure that passengers complete their itinerary when the delay, cancellation or denial of boarding is due to situations outside the carrier’s control, such as natural phenomena and security events, and

(iv) the carrier’s obligation to provide timely information and assistance to passengers;

(c) prescribing the minimum compensation for lost or damaged baggage that the carrier is required to pay;

(d) respecting the carrier’s obligation to facilitate the assignment of seats to children under the age of 14 years in close proximity to a parent, guardian or tutor at no additional cost and to make the carrier’s terms and conditions and practices in this respect readily available to passengers;

(e) requiring the carrier to establish terms and conditions of carriage with regard to the transportation of musical instruments;

(f) respecting the carrier’s obligations in the case of tarmac delays over three hours, including the obligation to provide timely information and assistance to

passengers, as well as the minimum standards of treatment of passengers that the carrier is required to

meet; and

(g) respecting any of the carrier’s other obligations that the Minister may issue directions on under subsection

Gabor Lukas, says the Agency is too cozy with the airlines that it is supposed to be policing and does not think this bill will assist passengers.

"I am profoundly concerned that the same biased body which in the past three, four years completely failed to enforce our rights is going to be in charge of developing regulations and then enforcing them," Lukas said in an interview. "This makes absolutely no sense and this is nothing short of entrusting the fox with guarding the hen house." (*2)

Endnotes

(*1) CTV news May 18, 2017.

(*2) http://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/passenger-bill-of-rights-transportation-act-1.4118452