Transport minister acknowledges 'unacceptable' summer travel issues, says plan is to strengthen passenger bill of rights
Transport minister acknowledges 'unacceptable' summer travel issues, says plan is to strengthen passenger bill of rights
Canada's transport minister says the federal government and the country's aviation sector are working on strengthening the passenger bill of rights following a summer plagued by delayed and cancelled flights.
While answering reporters' questions during a news conference at the Ottawa International Airport on Monday, Omar Alghabra acknowledged the "unacceptable" issues air travellers faced this year, from delayed and cancelled flights to lost luggage.
The comments came after the minister convened a summit last week with the air travel industry to discuss outstanding issues facing the sector ahead of the holidays.
Speaking on Monday, Alghabra said topics discussed included how to modernize the security screening process, ways that airports could generate additional revenue to ensure greater financial flexibility and lessons learned to reform the passenger bill of rights, including standards for the Canadian Air Transport Security Authority and other government agencies.
"Those are the type of things we're looking at because it's really important that we keep in mind the focus of the passenger experience. That's ultimately what we're all trying to do," Alghabra said.
The federal government has pointed to a surge in demand for air travel — as much as 280 per cent between February and June, Alghabra has said — and labour shortages for contributing to the issues seen at Canada's major airports, as well as others around the world.
The wait time, as of Monday, to review air travel complaints made to the Canadian Transportation Agency can be more than 18 months.
"I won't deny that there were very frustrating moments and episodes that was frustrating for passengers, that was frustrating for airlines, that was frustrating for our government, and there were a lot of lessons learned," Alghabra said.
While still below pre-pandemic levels, aircraft movement is steadily increasing and in September 2022 was 91.7 per cent of where it was in September 2019, recent data from Statistics Canada show.
This year, many Canadians also struggled to get their passports renewed as more applications were made with the easing of travel restrictions.
Alghabra said while passport processing falls under Service Canada, which Minister Karina Gould oversees, his "sense" is that the amount of time it takes to get a passport is now normal or close to normal.
The service standard for a regular passport application made in Canada, as of Monday, is 10 business days if submitted in person at a passport office and 20 business days if done in person at a regular Service Canada centre. The website states that processing times may be longer due to high volumes.
Meanwhile, Canadian airlines in April asked a federal appeal court to quash certain rules around compensation for delayed flights and damaged luggage.
With files from CTVNews.ca Data Journalist Deena Zaidi and The Canadian Press
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau will be presenting the federal government's offer for billions in new health-care funding to the provinces and territories at a highly anticipated meeting in Ottawa today.
Search teams and emergency aid from around the world poured into Turkiye and Syria on Tuesday as rescuers working in freezing temperatures dug, sometimes with their bare hands, through the remains of buildings flattened by a powerful earthquake. The death toll soared above 6,200 and was still expected to rise.
Canadians now believe they need $1.7 million in savings in order to retire, a 20 per cent increase from 2020, according to a new BMO survey. The eye-watering figure is the largest sum since BMO first started surveying Canadians about their retirement expectations 13 years ago.
A new poll finds one-third of Canadian households say their financial situation has worsened over the last year. According to a Leger poll commissioned by the Association for Canadian Studies, 34 per cent of Canadian households say they're financially worse off compared with a year ago.
A former London police officer was sentenced Tuesday to life in prison with a minimum term of 30 years for raping and sexually assaulting a dozen women over a 17-year period.
Canada’s yearslong shortage of veterinarians was exacerbated during the pandemic, as more people welcomed pets into their homes to add joy and companionship during lockdowns. Now, concerns around quickly accessing medical care for animals is more urgent than ever, says one vet.
Critics say the U.S. and Canada had ample time to shoot down a suspected Chinese spy balloon as it drifted across North America. The alleged surveillance device initially approached North America near Alaska's Aleutian Islands on Jan 28. According to officials, it crossed into Canadian airspace on Jan. 30, travelling above the Northwest Territories, Alberta and Saskatchewan before re-entering the U.S. on Jan 31.
Convicted murderer Daniel Jolivet, in prison for the past 30 years, has maintained his innocence since the day he was arrested. W5 reviews the evidence he painstakingly assembled while behind bars.
More than two years after downtown Beirut was levelled by an explosion, a Lebanese-Canadian family of a 3-year-old girl killed in the blast is still searching for answers.
In Canada, Medical Assistance in Dying is changing. In 2023, people who have a mental disorder as their sole underlying medical condition will become eligible for an assisted death. Originally, that was scheduled to happen on March 17, but the government has asked for a delay. CTVNews.ca/W5 outlines 9 things you need to know about MAiD.
On CTVNews.ca/W5: Executive Producer Derek Miller highlights an example of a W5 mini investigation that never made it to air, but made a difference in someone's life nonetheless.
On CTVNews.ca/W5: Executive Producer Derek Miller highlights some of W5's upcoming investigations, including Mexico's multi-billion dollar avocado industry run by cartels, and a continuing look into the Pivot Airlines passengers and crew who were detained for months without charges in the Dominican Republic.
The five-member Pivot Airlines crew, who had been detained in the Dominican Republic for almost eight months, is now back in Canada. An emotional airport reunion took place in a special pre-arrivals area of Toronto Pearson International Airport, as the two flight attendants, pilot, co-pilot and mechanic were greeted by family.
Nearly five years after Matthew Staikos was gunned down in Toronto, the family of the tech CEO has renewed a $250,000 reward in the unsolved murder case.
Surveillance video of the moments before a former child actor was run down by a vehicle on the Danforth has been obtained by CTV News Toronto as police search for the driver.
One of Canada's largest unions representing public servants has filed a bad-faith bargaining complaint against the Canada Revenue Agency over what it's calling an "about-face" on the issue of working from home.
An Ottawa restaurateur says he was shocked to find his restaurant broken into and even more surprised to discover a giant hole in the wall that led to the neighbouring jewelry store.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau will be presenting the federal government's offer for billions in new health-care funding to the provinces and territories at a highly anticipated meeting in Ottawa today.
Two people have died in a serious single-vehicle crash in Kingsville, a third person was injured and transported to hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.
A former medical student who claims he fatally shot a fellow student in self-defence during a drug deal in Halifax is denying he planned to kill the man and steal the marijuana he was carrying.
A Winnipeg family is in mourning after two relatives were killed by an earthquake that caused destruction across southeast Turkiye and neighbouring Syria.
The province is building an interchange at St Mary's Road and the South Perimeter to help traffic flow better, but some drivers who live in the area aren't happy with how speed limits are being enforced in a portion of this construction zone.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau will be presenting the federal government's offer for billions in new health-care funding to the provinces and territories at a highly anticipated meeting in Ottawa today.
Canadians now believe they need $1.7 million in savings in order to retire, a 20 per cent increase from 2020, according to a new BMO survey. The eye-watering figure is the largest sum since BMO first started surveying Canadians about their retirement expectations 13 years ago.
There’s so much demand for Vancouver’s mental health emergency teams that people can be left waiting days, and sometimes teams never make it to requests for service at all. It’s hoped a funding boost to hire more staff will increase capacity of the service.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau will be presenting the federal government's offer for billions in new health-care funding to the provinces and territories at a highly anticipated meeting in Ottawa today.
The federal commission looking into the Liberal government's decision to use the Emergencies Act is being granted an extension to deliver its report to the cabinet and the public at the same time this month.
A new poll suggests a majority of Canadians still see the United States as their country's closest ally, even in an age of isolationism and protectionist policies.
A U.S. survey found that people who had a personal connection to someone who became ill or died of COVID-19 were more likely to have received at least one shot of the vaccine compared to those who didn’t have any loved ones who had been impacted by the disease.
Canadian researchers are drawing attention to the increasing prevalence of 'a pathological pursuit of muscularity' among Canadian boys and young men, with a new study that found one in four were at risk of developing what's known as muscle dysmorphia.
Pakistan lifted its ban on Wikipedia services before dawn Tuesday, after the country's media regulator blocked the site last week for not removing purportedly blasphemous content, claiming it hurts the sentiments of Muslims.
Google parent Alphabet is planning to launch a chatbot service and more artificial intelligence for its search engine as well as developers, making a riposte to Microsoft in a rivalry to lead a new wave of technology.
February's full snow moon, which first appeared this weekend, will light up the sky over the next two nights, with the spectacle already reaching full illumination on Sunday morning. But this year's full moon was smaller than those of recent years.
Tickets for the first concert of Beyonce's upcoming 'Renaissance' world tour sold out Tuesday, and concert management group Live Nation said a second concert in Stockholm was added because of the high demand.
Toronto native Samantha Bee is returning home to host the 2023 Canadian Screen Awards. Organizers for the ceremony celebrating the best in Canadian film and television said Bee will helm the pre-recorded broadcast to cap off Canadian Screen Week, during which there will be numerous in-person events for the first time in four years.
A night in music brimming with shocking upsets, historic wins, tributes for artists like the late rapper Takeoff and hip-hop's 50th anniversary, the 65th Grammys were back in full swing Sunday. Once again, Beyonce was in the running for the top honor. Once again, the show ended with someone else winning album of the year.
The number of insolvencies filed by Canadian businesses in 2022 was up 37.2 per cent compared with 2021. The Office of the Superintendent of Bankruptcy says there were 3,402 business insolvencies last year, up from 2,480 in 2021.
A new poll finds one-third of Canadian households say their financial situation has worsened over the last year. According to a Leger poll commissioned by the Association for Canadian Studies, 34 per cent of Canadian households say they're financially worse off compared with a year ago.
Canada Goose Holdings Inc. says it plans to build its customer base with a focus on women and generation Z and expand into new product categories like eyewear, luggage and home as it charts a new five-year growth path.
She started throwing punches to get exercise during the COVID-19 pandemic, but now 17-year-old Talia Birch is gearing up to compete in the Canada Games as it opens up to female boxers for the first time
Paul George scored 29 points, Kawhi Leonard added 24 and the Los Angeles Clippers overcame a career-high 47 points from Cam Thomas in his first start to beat the short-handed Brooklyn Nets 124-116 on Monday night.
Mortgage executive and former Michigan State guard Mat Ishbia is the new majority owner of the Phoenix Suns and WNBA's Phoenix Mercury, after the NBA's board of governors approved his plan to purchase the controlling stake of those franchises from Robert Sarver.
Automakers Renault and Nissan on Monday formalized their reboot of a relationship that had grown rocky, culminating in the spectacular fall of top executive Carlos Ghosn, who had led successful turnarounds at both companies before his arrest and daring escape.
New research suggests that cutting fossil fuel emissions by adopting electric vehicles can improve air quality and potentially reduce respiratory problems in communities. But these benefits may not apply to all neighbourhoods in the same way.
Former NFL player Jim Bob Morris is heading to the Super Bowl in Phoenix from Bloomington, Illinois, in a newly refurbished set of wheels. His ride has new paint, new seating and even a new bathroom.
