Today the Government of Canada introduced
Bill C-49 to the House. This bill has been widely reported in the media for introducing Canada's Passenger Bill of Rights.
In reality, the Bill is a deep revamp of the
Canada Transportation Act and officially is being cited as the
Transportation Modernization Act. It updates provisions for rail transport, includes an amendment to permit foreign ownership of CN Rail to rise to 25%, and changes how empty cargo containers can be repositioned by ships subject to CETA (Canada-EU trade agreement) receiving royal assent. Foreign ownership limits of a Canadian airline are raised to 49%. No single non-Canadian may own more than 25% though.
The Bill introduces a new section on air transport (section 53.7) which covers any air travel agreement "to, from or within Canada". I think this section is meant to cover so-called "airlines" who are merely resellers of seats such as
New Leaf Air. Resellers may now come under review from the Ministry of Transport as well as the Competition Bureau. If the Ministry of Transport chooses to review the operations of resellers, then the responsibilities of the Minister are laid out with clear timelines. Contravening section 53.7 could lead to 5 years in jail, or a $10 million fine or both
for every day that section 53.7 is contravened. This strikes me as quite a severe penalty. Someone must have really crossed a line for this section to carry such a penalty!
Section 67 of the Canada Transportation Act deals with tariffs. The Bill introduces section 67.4 which is interesting. If one person complains to the Canada Transport Agency (about a tariff), then CTA may at its discretion, apply the remedy to the person who complained and also "to some or to all passengers of the same flight as the complainant".
Section 86 of the Canada Transportation Act deals with classifying aircraft, air services, advertising etc. The Bill introduces section 86.11
Regulations — carrier’s obligations towards passengers. This is the
Passenger Bill of Rights.
So finally - we get to the bit we're all interested in. And there's not much to see! The Bill directs the Canada Transportation Agency to "make regulations in relation to flights to, from and within Canada, including connecting flights". These regulations will:
- outline the carrier's obligation to pax in "language that is simple, clear and concise"
- establish min standards of treatment and min compensation for delays, cancellation or denial of boarding
- min compensation for lost / damaged luggage (I thought this was already covered in the Montreal Convention)
- establish carrier's obligation to seat parents with their kids (14 or younger) sans charge
- establish carrier's obligation for care of transportation of musical instruments
- establish carrier's obligation for tarmac delays exceeding 3h
The rest of the Bill deals with railway issues, coastal transport (seafaring ships), grain shipments as well as organizations such as the Canadian Transportation Accident Investigation and Safety Board.
So after all this, we're still not getting a Pax Bill of Rights. We're getting the framework through which a Pax Bill of Rights can be created (by the CTA). Personally I'm a bit disappointed, but I also understand that this is how things work in our country. So let's watch this bill work its way through the House and through the Senate, then let's see what the CTA comes up with for an actual Pax Bill of Rights.