Internal government documents obtained by Go Public indicate that Transport Canada officials and successive transport ministers may have deliberately delayed and undermined efforts to require airlines to contribute to funding Canada’s air passenger complaints system.
The documents reveal that Transport Canada, under different transport ministers, interfered with the Canadian Transportation Agency (CTA), which was directed by Parliament in 2023 to implement a cost-recovery fee on airlines. Despite over two and a half years passing, the fee has not been established. This delay means taxpayers still cover approximately $30 million annually for processing air passenger complaints, resulting in a backlog exceeding 88,000 cases.
Passengers who face issues like flight delays or lost luggage can file complaints with the CTA. Due to overwhelming demand, Parliament mandated the agency to charge airlines a fee for cases involving eligible claims temporarily. To investigate the delay in implementing the fee, Go Public submitted an Access to Information request to the CTA covering a specific period.
The obtained documents, totaling over 2,000 pages, include correspondence between the CTA and various transport ministers, internal deliberations on addressing government concerns, and public consultation submissions. Gábor Lukács of Air Passenger Rights reviewed the documents and highlighted apparent government interference in the CTA’s independent operations.
Former Transport Minister Anita Anand requested a delay in implementing the fee, criticizing the CTA for proceeding with public consultations without her input. Anand’s stance was challenged by legal experts, who deemed her actions constitutionally inappropriate. Despite the ongoing delay, Parliament’s directive to the CTA to implement the fee remains unfulfilled.
The airline industry has actively lobbied against the fee, engaging in numerous meetings with government officials. The delay in fee implementation has led to a significant backlog of air passenger complaints, with projections indicating a potential increase to over 150,000 cases by 2028.
Experts and advocates argue that the prolonged delay in implementing the fee hampers passengers’ rights and undermines the regulatory process intended to protect consumers. The documents suggest a deliberate effort by Transport Canada and various transport ministers to impede the fee’s implementation and interfere with the CTA’s independence.