Image Credit: House of Commons

By Adam Berls

airline accountability

Bachrach calls out Minister of Transport on not holding airlines accountable

Oct 30, 2024 | 12:18 PM

OTTAWA — NDP Transport Critic and MP for Skeena-Bulkley Valley Taylor Bachrach has called out the federal Minister of Transport for failing to hold Canadian airlines accountable.

“The issue of airlines mistreating passengers with disabilities is not unique to the United States,” said Bachrach. “Here in Canada, passengers have been dropped on the floor, had their wheelchairs broken and lost, one even had to drag themselves off a plane by their arms. This government’s response? The Minister called a summit with plenty of nice words but zero action.”

In the United States, “the US Department of Transportation fined American Airlines $50 million for violating rules in place to protect airline passengers with disabilities after an investigation found that the carrier had damaged or delayed the return of thousands of passenger wheelchairs.”

In response to Bachrach, Minister of Transport Anita Anand said:
“Mr. Speaker, I beg to differ. I am standing up in the House today, after meeting with our government’s chief accessibility officer, to definitively emphasize how important passenger safety and accessibility is for this government. I will repeat that over and over again in the House and outside of the House. There is nothing more important than non-discrimination and more accessibility and safety for our air passengers, rail passengers and freight passengers also.”

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Bachrach brought forward a study at the Transport Committee to study the issue of accessible air transportation for persons with disabilities. Throughout the course of this study, the Committee heard from many disability advocates who expressed that the poor treatment of people with disabilities by Canadian airlines is systemic and extremely common. One witness said “that the problems are so immense he ‘dread[s] entering Canadian airspace'”. A final report is being worked on, to showcase what was heard at the committee and what recommendations the government could implement going forward.

The Minister’s claim that she’s standing up for passengers rings hollow given her government’s utter failure to take any action whatsoever,” said Bachrach. “People with disabilities cannot continue to live in fear of flying in Canada. The Minister needs to hold airlines accountable and change federal policy to ensure people with disabilities can travel safely and with dignity.”

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X: @AdamBerls

Email: Adam.Berls@pattisonmedia.com