By Adam Berls

airline accessibility

‘Better national standards’: Bachrach questions Air Canada CEO

Mar 21, 2024 | 2:42 PM

PRINCE GEORGE — Canadian airlines have been under scrutiny over the last year for their treatment of persons with disabilities, and one story that made national news was that of Rodney Hodgins, a Prince George man, who was forced to drag himself off an Air Canada plane in Las Vegas. And the NDP’s transport critic, Taylor Bachrach had the chance to question Air Canada’s CEO, Michael Rousseau.

“The airlines’ ongoing mistreating of people with disabilities is completely unacceptable,” said Bachrach. “The airlines try to diminish this issue and claim that such instances are rare but the stories we have heard from people with disabilities who travel indicate the opposite. This is a systemic issue that the airlines are failing to address.”

However, the CEO of Air Canada would not commit either way to whether stronger regulations are needed, saying that the company was committed to the “actions we’re putting in place.”

In the second hour of testimony, the committee heard from Heather Walkus, Chair of the Council of Canadians with Disabilities, and Professor David Lepofsky, Chair of the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act Alliance, who expressed deep dissatisfaction with Air Canada’s responses.

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“We heard from Air Canada today that they’re doing a good job. That they’ve put in place measures that are needed to fix this. That the problems are few or infrequent. And that all they need is more education or training for their staff,” Professor Lepofsky told MPs on the committee. “Every single one of those statements is wrong. And that Air Canada’s leadership said this is proof that we need far more systemic solutions.”

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X: @AdamBerls

Email: Adam.Berls@pattisonmedia.com