NDP reacts as Liberals give the big airlines an early Christmas present

“This is a gift to the airlines. The transport minister promised the Liberals’ passenger protections would be the strongest in the world, but the latest changes are significantly weaker than Europe’s rules,” said Bachrach. “The fact they’re dropping this news just before Christmas when no one is watching shows they know it’s nothing for travellers to celebrate.”

SMITHERS– NDP transport critic Taylor Bachrach (Skeena-Bulkley Valley) has said publishing changes to the Air Passenger Protection Regulations (APPR) just days before Christmas shows the Liberals know the new rules don’t do enough to protect passengers.

“This is a gift to the airlines. The transport minister promised the Liberals’ passenger protections would be the strongest in the world, but the latest changes are significantly weaker than Europe’s rules,” said Bachrach. “The fact they’re dropping this news just before Christmas when no one is watching shows they know it’s nothing for travellers to celebrate.”

Bachrach highlighted two major problems with the new regulations: the government has limited the definition of “denial of boarding” to instances when flights are overbooked and is letting airlines off the hook for compensation if delays or cancellations are “within the carrier’s control but required for safety reasons.”

“These two provisions greatly limit the circumstances under which passengers would receive compensation,” said Bachrach. “The airlines lobbied hard to avoid rules like those in Europe and it looks like they got what they wanted.”

Under the new regulations, 53 percent of delays, and 69 percent of cancellations would fall under the “exceptional circumstances” category, and would not be eligible for compensation, according to the government’s own Regulatory Impact Statement.

By contrast, Bachrach’s private member’s bill C-327, the Strengthening Air Passenger Protection Act, laid out a clear definition of Denial of Boarding, which would have included any refusal to carry a passenger on a flight on which they held a confirmed reservation, and created a definition of “exceptional circumstances” that aligned with European passenger protections.

“The Liberals have no excuse for their continued failure to protect passengers,” said Bachrach. “Despite Europe’s example, recommendations from Parliament’s 2023 report, and my private member’s bill, which is endorsed by leading advocates, they’ve once again sided with the big airlines over Canadian travellers.”