New bill to protect airline passengers 'useless,' says consumer group

Advocates for airline passengers say their optimism about anAir Passenger Bill of Rights, introduced in the House of Commons this week, has nosedived.

"I was horrified when I took at a look at what we don't have [in the bill]," Bruce Cran, president of the Consumers' Association of Canada, told CBC News in a phone interview from Vancouver.

"This bill is nothing more than some sort of sham. There's no detail in there."

'Skeleton without flesh'

Federal Transportation Minister Marc Garneau introduced Bill C-49legislationwhich tasks the Canadian Transportation Agency (CTA)with developing regulations to protect air passenger rights.

"This bill is like a skeleton without flesh. It's absolutely useless as far as we can see," saidCran, whoseorganization monitors how industries, including airlines, treat consumers.

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The bill fails to lay outcompensation amounts for shoddy treatment, including being forcibly bumped due tooverbooking, delays while already on board and lost or damaged baggage.

"It doesn't quantify the damages to be paid for any of the problems that could arise," Cran said.

He said he was expecting a comprehensive bill and hopedfor an outright ban on overbooking.

"There is no list of penalties for abuse of passengers," he said. "I don't know what they're doing here but there is no [air passenger rights] bill."

Advocates blocked from launching actions

Well-known air passenger rights advocate Gabor Lukacs, who has challenged airlines and won numerous times, calls the legislation "the air passenger bill with no rights."

Lukacs and Cran are especially concerned about a section ofthe new legislation which says both domestic and international complaints "may only be filed by a person adversely affected."

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That would block the association and Lukacs from takinglegal action against an airline or the industry overwhat they might perceive is asystemic problem.

Now, they must have an individual complainant.

"This strikes me as an an attempt to shield airlines from complaints and further prevent the public from ensuring their rights," Lukacs said by phonefrom Budapest.

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He told CBC he believes the airlines are unhappy with his successful efforts to ensure theirwritten policiesmatch what is on the law books. The new bill is the reverse of what passengers require, he said.

"This effort of the government to shut the door to the kind of advocacy I have done in the past shows the true colours of what the government is trying to accomplish, which is help the airlines against passengers," he said.

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Airlines' accountability will actually be reduced because making a complaint will become too onerous for an individual to take on, he said.

"Until there is a passenger who has an issue and who is willing to go through the whole hassle of complaining to the Canadian Transportation Agency, appeals to the Federal Court of Appeal and the Supreme Court of Canada, airlines will get away with disobeying the law, which is my most fundamental complaint about this bill."

Cran said his organization has been working for consumers since 1947, including taking various issues to the Supreme Court of Canada.

"Are they telling us now we can't do that anymore?" he asked.

"It's limiting our rights to practically zero. It limits my organization, what we do for peopleand we're not going to put up with it."

Transport Canada defends changes

CBC News asked Transport Canada who suggested the change and why it was included in the legislation.

In an email, Transport Canada spokesperson Natasha Gauthier told CBC Newsthe recommendation came as a result ofextensive consultations on the Canada Transportation Act Review.

"In cases where passengers determine that the air carrier in question did not fulfill its obligations under the new regulations, they may seek the advice of someone who would support them in their complaint," she said. "The person providing support, however, must represent the specific issue of a specific passenger."

Gary Howard, spokesperson for CAA Atlantic who was part of the process to develop the new bill, said he's not concerned about the change and that it is not intended to shut down advocates.

"I think thisis more about efficiency than taking out an advocate. I think advocates will continue to play a role and keep an eye on it," he said.

Transportation agency needs to step up enforcement

Howard acknowledged the Canadian Transportation Agency needs to improve its operations and to enforce rules that are already on the books.

The objective with this legislation, he said, is to make sure there are very clear, easily understandable standards that travellers can access.

"This also has to be reasonable to the airlines and the airport authority and so on so that they're not dealing with the same person on four different complaints. Thatit's the passenger who's actually working on their own behalf," Howard said.

He said the legislation has a built-in mechanism that allows the minister to make changes at any time he feels it is appropriate. "The devil is in the details. And he urgespeople to be patient.

"It will be done properly and correctly. I'm confident this is going to be a good regulation in place to protect travellers," he said.

Canada lags behind

Cran points out Canada lags behind the United States and Europe in lacking an airline passenger bill of rights.

Europe has onefor 20 years and in the United States for the past10 to 15 years.

"We want the same thing here," he said, adding no airline has gone broke from adhering to rules that ensure proper treatment of passengers.