After the setbacks in air and rail transport that marked the holiday season, Jagmeet Singh believes that the time has come for the federal government to strengthen its regulations on the protection of travelers.
• Read also: Travelers stuck: Sunwing and VIA Rail in Ottawa’s crosshairs
• To read also: Travelers stuck in the South: “Sunwing leaves us there without communication”
• Read also: Disgruntled vacationers will give up on Sunwing
For the leader of the NDP, “there must be repercussions” more important for companies which do not “take seriously” the situation of their customers who suffered from their chaotic management during the Christmas snowstorm.
Federal Transport Committee Chairman, Liberal Peter Shiefke, intends to invite the executives of Sunwing and Via Rail, two of the most criticized companies of late, to hear their explanations of the headaches their clients.
Mr. Singh supported this request, especially since these, like many transport companies, “have received a lot of public money” during the pandemic of COVID-19. They should be “held accountable” for their actions, the NDP leader said at a press briefing on Wednesday.
Recall that thousands of travelers were stuck in airports across the country due to a major snowstorm during the days surrounding Christmas.
Although the airlines have no control over the weather, many problems have arisen with reservations, baggage handling, refund policies or simply the lack of clear communication with customers.
Jagmeet Singh also sees it as a problem of lack of competition.
“More options for domestic flights is absolutely something I would support, and finding ways to make it easier to compete domestically is something New Democrats would support,” he said.
Last week, Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre sharply criticized the Trudeau government, calling for “stricter and clearer” rules.
“We need to understand why our airlines, and even more importantly our airports, are in such a sorry state,” he said.
The Air Passenger Protection Regulations are a relatively new creation of the federal government. Set up in 2019 by the government of Justin Trudeau and then reinforced in 2022, it aims mainly to regulate the compensatory measures that companies must ensure in the event of cancellation or delay.
On Monday and Tuesday, Sunwing repatriated many customers who had been stuck in the South since last week.
