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Canadian officials and ministers allegedly sought to delay and undermine efforts to force airline Pay air passenger fees in the country Complaint systemaccording to a new report.
Nearly 100,000 people are waiting for compensation after parliamentary directive canadian transportation mechanism Cost recovery fees imposed on airlines in 2023.
Currently, Canadian taxpayers spend approximately $30 million to deal with air passenger complaints. backlog The number of people seeking compensation has exceeded 88,000.
The types of issues people can seek compensation for include delayed flights or lost luggage.
However, with the complaints system overwhelmed, Parliament ordered the agency to charge airlines for cases in which passengers made qualifying claims.
CBC Listed According to the report, the documents reveal correspondence between the Canadian Transportation Agency and various transportation ministers through different governments.
One of the documents reportedly showed that then-Transportation Secretary Anita Anand asked the CTA to delay charging airlines.
“Given that the agency has not consulted with me, I respectfully request that you refrain from implementing any decision regarding fees until they are fully implemented,” the letter reads.
Additionally, department officials expressed concerns about the proposed fees to the CTA via email. Regardless of the outcome of the investigation, the airline will be charged a fee of $790 per complaint.
That fee still accounts for only about 60 percent of the nearly $30 million it will cost taxpayers to deal with the backlog of complaints.
While the CTA received input from Anand’s predecessor, Pablo Rodriguez, the then-minister said it wasn’t good enough.
“As the incoming minister, I should have had the opportunity to provide input on the proposal,” Anand wrote. “Notices to the previous minister were insufficient.”
Paulie Daly, research chair in administrative law and governance at the University of Ottawa, said Anand’s actions appeared “sham” and “unconstitutional.”
“When a new minister comes in, the clock doesn’t start over with consultations or anything else,” he said.
“This is not the personal property of the person who happens to be occupying the office at a particular point in time.”
Daley further pointed out that the adequacy of consultation should be judged by the CTA, not the minister.
“Obviously, it’s the agency’s job to decide who should be consulted,” he said.
“What we’re seeing here is the government, and ministers in particular, are undermining the will of Parliament.”