Originally Posted by
Tobias-UK
From what the OP says he needed an eTA number to be inserted into the system (presumably for travel authorisation by the Canadians). I'm not familiar with the Canadian eTA process as far as airlines are concerned but it appears that the Canadian Authorities indicate if there is a valid eTA associated with the API found within the PNR. If there is no valid eTA then the passenger is flagged at the conformance stage and not authorised to travel or board the aircraft.
BA, the OP tells us, contacted the Canadian Authorities to seek advice on whether the passenger was allowed to travel to Canada. The airline relied on the advice given to it by the Canadian Authorities and, with respect, at that point it is irrelevant what the TIMATIC guidance says on the matter.
BA contacted the Canadian Authorities for advice, they acted on that advice - what more could they do? What they did do was to put the OP on a flight to BOS at no additional cost to him, they were under no legal obligation to do so, they could quite easily have refused to let him travel at all and told him to sing for a refund.
I thank all of you for your perspectives on this and for adding a bit of humour. Especially the
Golden Ticket for defending Canadian Borders and the
Maple Leaf Pub are great!
I put in all my passport data well before checkin online. Same passport as used for work permit and as used on previous flights with BA and other carriers. Never have I been asked for an ETA number before. The
e stands for
electronic 
. And it was
automatically issued in my case, which is what Canadian immigration website confirms. If the work permit is approved, you have an ETA. Hence, perhaps carelessly, I did never look up the number (and submitted the letter of introduction as asked to the officer) and never was I told to memorize that ETA number and never did I need it in 25 times going to Canada in 12 months. Would you then suddenly think it is needed as a number?
Hence my surprise.
For about 30 seconds or so I saw the screen, it asked for ETA (or permanent resident number) indeed. BA suggesting me to get a new ETA was against Canadian rules!
And did BA get all its computer systems and forms right all the time in the past? No. It was not right when I travelled to Shanghai either. I cannot trust BA's computer system and surely it is not always up to date with all the rules (that may change too). Why did the BA system let me board in AMS?
BA actually admits this in the response towards the end:
We've now had a response from our Specialist team. We've been advised that when any of our airport staff are unsure about visas and or travel documentation they must call the appropriate authorities. In this case, the Canadian Authorities were called and advised us that we would be correct to deny you boarding on your flight to Canada. This was due to you only carrying a work permit, which doesn't authorise re-entry into Canada.
When we seek advice from the appropriate authorities, we can't dispute this. We must accept the advice given, as they're the experts in this matter. In this case, we have denied you boarding correctly, as we followed the advice given by the Canadian Authorities.
I can see you believe the information given by Mr XXX was not correct, and hence this caused you to be denied. We would be prompted by the Canadian Authorities, who would be fully aware which documents can be accepted. If you didn't hold any documents listed by the Canadian Authorities then they would advise us to deny boarding. I'm sorry this has gone on for so long, and I appreciate you'll be disappointed with this response.
As we've denied boarding based on advice sought from the appropriate authorities, we wouldn't be liable to cover any of your additional expenses. I can assure you we've fed back your comments regarding being denied boarding in Amsterdam. Your documents should have been fully checked here, and if incorrect, you should have been denied before beginning your journey. I appreciate how inconvenient this was for you.
Maybe given what the BA system asked for calling made sense. I am still flabbergasted by the answer BA got and by telling me (now, after their 'investigation') that with a work permit I cannot enter, when in fact I can. And when hundreds of thousands of people can and do so. Canada is a country of immigrants.
This is not a case of someone trying to sneak into a country. I had to go to work, to educate and entertain my students, to go to a place where I pay taxes, etc., and where I am authorized to work.
Perhaps I should have stayed in London and paid the Maple Leaf Pub a visit.