AFN chief says Air Canada offered a 15% discount after her headdress was mishandled
After the Assembly of First Nations' national chief complained to Air Canada about how staffers treated her and her ceremonial headdress on a flight this week, she says the airline responded by offering a 15 per cent discount on her next flight.
"It must have been a generic response," Cindy Woodhouse Nepinak said in an interview, calling the entire experience "humiliating" and "unbelievable."
Woodhouse Nepinak said in a social-media post Thursday her headdress and its case were taken away and put in a garbage bag.
She clarified Friday the case was removed from the flight, but she was able to hold her headdress throughout the trip after pleading with staff.
Air Canada said in a statement Friday morning that it reached out directly to Woodhouse Nepinak to apologize and "better understand" her experience. It added it is also following up on the matter internally and reviewing its policies.
During the flight from Fredericton to Montreal on Wednesday, the national chief said an Air Canada staff member approached her and said: "You can't have that in here."
Woodhouse Nepinak said she told them she wouldn't part with her headdress.
Still, the crew took it and its case and put garbage bags around them, she said, before she managed to convince them that her headdress should be taken back out.
Photos Woodhouse Nepinak posted online show the case covered in a clear plastic bag, with staff members hauling it on the tarmac to be loaded under the plane.
"I was kind of stunned at that moment," she recounted.
"There was lots of Canadians trying to help me in that moment and realizing they shouldn't be handling my items like that."
"This was a mistake that I know Air Canada is looking into right now," Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said about the incident during an unrelated news conference Friday in Bromont, Que.
"It is an unfortunate situation that I hope is going to lead to a bit of learning -- not just by Air Canada, but a lot of different institutions."
Trudeau said the Truth and Reconciliation Commission's 94 calls to action should prompt industry and Canadians to be responsible partners who have a sense of understanding about the cultural importance of items such as this.
NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh told reporters in Toronto that he met with Woodhouse Nepinak by chance at an airport in Montreal shortly after the incident, and she shared with him how she felt "disrespected."
He said he supports calls from the national chief for a policy to ensure a situation like this never happens again, and added there are "far too many" examples of Indigenous Peoples being disrespected.
Air Canada said it is looking to learn from the "regrettable incident" and ensure "special items such as this" can consistently remain in the cabin with travellers.
"Air Canada understands the importance of accommodating customers with items and symbols of sacred cultural significance," the statement says.
"In the past the chiefs have been able to travel while transporting their headdress in their cases in the cabin, but this time the case was difficult to carry in the cabin due to stowage space limitations on the Dash-8 aircraft."
Woodhouse Nepinak called her headdress one of the highest honours First Nations peoples can receive, noting it's not something that can just be purchased in a store.
"When I wear it, I'm representing and speaking for our people," she said.
"Taking it out there (on the plane) and having all these different people handling it -- that's not the way we handle our items. … It's a respect thing."
Asked why she decided to speak publicly about the incident, Woodhouse Nepinak said this situation isn't one she wants to be in, but "Creator put it on my lap to go through, and I'm walking through it hoping that we come out of this better."
She said she spoke with the president and CEO of the airline on Friday morning and told him they need to do better, including by appointing a First Nations person to their board.
She also wants them to have cross-cultural training for staff.
Woodhouse Nepinak said she expects to meet with Air Canada again about the saga and is inviting the person who made the headdress for her to come along.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 26, 2024.
IN DEPTH
Jagmeet Singh pulls NDP out of deal with Trudeau Liberals, takes aim at Poilievre Conservatives
NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh has pulled his party out of the supply-and-confidence agreement that had been helping keep Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's minority Liberals in power.
'Not the result we wanted': Trudeau responds after surprise Conservative byelection win in Liberal stronghold
Conservative candidate Don Stewart winning the closely-watched Toronto-St. Paul's federal byelection, and delivering a stunning upset to Justin Trudeau's candidate Leslie Church in the long-time Liberal riding, has sent political shockwaves through both parties.
'We will go with the majority': Liberals slammed by opposition over proposal to delay next election
The federal Liberal government learned Friday it might have to retreat on a proposal within its electoral reform legislation to delay the next vote by one week, after all opposition parties came out to say they can't support it.
Budget 2024 prioritizes housing while taxing highest earners, deficit projected at $39.8B
In an effort to level the playing field for young people, in the 2024 federal budget, the government is targeting Canada's highest earners with new taxes in order to help offset billions in new spending to enhance the country's housing supply and social supports.
'One of the greatest': Former prime minister Brian Mulroney commemorated at state funeral
Prominent Canadians, political leaders, and family members remembered former prime minister and Progressive Conservative titan Brian Mulroney as an ambitious and compassionate nation-builder at his state funeral on Saturday.
Opinion
opinion Don Martin: Gusher of Liberal spending won't put out the fire in this dumpster
A Hail Mary rehash of the greatest hits from the Trudeau government’s three-week travelling pony-show, the 2024 federal budget takes aim at reversing the party’s popularity plunge in the under-40 set, writes political columnist Don Martin. But will it work before the next election?
opinion Don Martin: The doctor Trudeau dumped has a prescription for better health care
Political columnist Don Martin sat down with former federal health minister Jane Philpott, who's on a crusade to help fix Canada's broken health care system, and who declined to take any shots at the prime minister who dumped her from caucus.
opinion Don Martin: Trudeau's seeking shelter from the housing storm he helped create
While Justin Trudeau's recent housing announcements are generally drawing praise from experts, political columnist Don Martin argues there shouldn’t be any standing ovations for a prime minister who helped caused the problem in the first place.
opinion Don Martin: Poilievre has the field to himself as he races across the country to big crowds
It came to pass on Thursday evening that the confidentially predictable failure of the Official Opposition non-confidence motion went down with 204 Liberal, BQ and NDP nays to 116 Conservative yeas. But forcing Canada into a federal election campaign was never the point.
opinion Don Martin: How a beer break may have doomed the carbon tax hike
When the Liberal government chopped a planned beer excise tax hike to two per cent from 4.5 per cent and froze future increases until after the next election, says political columnist Don Martin, it almost guaranteed a similar carbon tax move in the offing.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Police arrest 18-year-old woman who allegedly stole Porsche and ran over its owner
Police have arrested an 18-year-old woman who allegedly stole a Porsche and then ran over its owner in an incident that was captured on video.
Woman nearly shut out of mother's estate sues brother in B.C. Supreme Court – and wins
Since she was a young girl growing up in Vancouver, Ginny Lam says her mom Yat Hei Law made it very clear she favoured her son William, because he was her male heir.
Woman shot by B.C. police was Colombian refugee with young daughter, advocate says
Advocates have identified the woman who died this week after being shot by police in Surrey, B.C., as a South American refugee who was raising a young daughter.
3 injured after man with knife enters Montreal-area mosque
Three men were injured after trying to subdue a man armed with a knife during afternoon prayers at a Montreal-area mosque Friday afternoon.
Kamala Harris tells Oprah any intruder to her home is 'getting shot'
U.S. Vice-President Kamala Harris on Thursday issued a warning to any potential home intruder: 'If somebody breaks in my house, they're getting shot.'
Teen arrested in New Brunswick after emergency alert; 5 people in custody
A 15-year-old boy who was the subject of an emergency alert in New Brunswick has been arrested.
On the trail of the mystery woman whose company licensed exploding pagers
What Cristiana Barsony-Arcidiacono, 49, the Italian-Hungarian CEO and owner of Hungary-based BAC Consulting, says she hasn't done is make the exploding pagers that killed 12 people and wounded more than 2,000 in Lebanon this week.
'We're still pushing hard': Search for missing Manitoba boy continues, RCMP find tracks
The search for a missing six-year-old boy in Shamattawa is continuing Friday as RCMP hope recent tips can help lead to a happy conclusion.
Video released of person of interest after cat is allegedly set on fire in Orillia, Ont.
Provincial police investigating the death of a cat that was allegedly set on fire in Orillia earlier this week released surveillance video of a person of interest in the case.
Local Spotlight
'Sheer excitement': Manitoba photographer snaps photo of lightning strike and double rainbow
Getting a photograph of a rainbow? Common. Getting a photo of a lightning strike? Rare. Getting a photo of both at the same time? Extremely rare, but it happened to a Manitoba photographer this week.
'It was a shock': Business pays Moncton not-for-profit's mortgage
An anonymous business owner paid off the mortgage for a New Brunswick not-for-profit.
Heroic dog saved his northern Ont. owner who had a massive heart attack
They say a dog is a man’s best friend. In the case of Darren Cropper, from Bonfield, Ont., his three-year-old Siberian husky and golden retriever mix named Bear literally saved his life.
Brides and vendors claim they were ripped off by Barrie, Ont. photographer
A growing group of brides and wedding photographers from across the province say they have been taken for tens of thousands of dollars by a Barrie, Ont. wedding photographer.
'Trove of extraordinary fossils' discovered in northern B.C., museum says
Paleontologists from the Royal B.C. Museum have uncovered "a trove of extraordinary fossils" high in the mountains of northern B.C., the museum announced Thursday.
Missing 28-year-old donkey found dead, believed to have been killed by cougar
The search for a missing ancient 28-year-old chocolate donkey ended with a tragic discovery Wednesday.
'The gift they gave us was their service': 50 years since first female troop joined the RCMP
The Royal Canadian Mounted Police is celebrating an important milestone in the organization's history: 50 years since the first women joined the force.
Young family from northern Ontario wins $70 million Lotto Max jackpot
It's been a whirlwind of joyful events for a northern Ontario couple who just welcomed a baby into their family and won the $70 million Lotto Max jackpot last month.
'The right thing to do': Good Samaritan builds new bottle cart for Moncton man who had his stolen
A Good Samaritan in New Brunswick has replaced a man's stolen bottle cart so he can continue to collect cans and bottles in his Moncton neighbourhood.