This is a major victory for Canadian consumers, according to the Council of Canadians with Disabilities, the National Pensioners Federation, and the Public Interest Advocacy Centre.  The coalition intervened in the case, which was brought by a group of airline associations and Canadian and international carriers against the Canadian Transportation Agency and the Attorney General of Canada.

They argued before the Supreme Court that the standardized remedies in the Air Passenger Protection Regulations do not fall within the scope of the individualized damages in the Montreal Convention. The Court instead found that the two regimes do not conflict and can coexist, playing complementary roles in protecting consumer interests.

The coalition spoke out in support of all Canadian travellers, including many travellers who are not only inconvenienced by disruptions such as delays of lost baggage but also are often harder hit due to disability, economic insecurity, or similar situations.  The Canadian regulations offer set compensation amounts which can be accessed through filing a simple claim with the airline.  This set of regulations provides standardized and timely compensation for the immediate, serious and stressful impact of flight disruptions on all consumers.

In maintaining the right of consumers to seek standardized compensation under the federal Regulation, the SCC’s ruling does not take away the ability of consumers to seek individualized remedies under the Montreal Convention, for example to cover expenses such as specialized equipment if lost or damaged. While being able to seek higher amounts to cover expenses, this type of claim is a more complex and lengthier process with evidentiary requirements.

Having both avenues of compensation accessible to Canadians is a win as passengers can be more fairly compensated for true personal loss in a flight disruption.

While this decision is good news for Canadian consumers, more work still needs to be done to improve transparency in the decision-making process at the Canada Transportation Agency, to address backlogs in accessing compensation under the Regulations, and to review the levels of compensation available to consumers.

This coalition was represented by Katrine Dilay and Chris Klassen of the Public Interest Law Centre (Legal Aid Manitoba) and Professor Marina Pavlovic.

Please see our backgrounder on the legal findings in the decision.

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Media Inquiries

John Lawford

Public Interest Advocacy Centre

613-447-8125

Trish McAuliffe

National Pensioners Federation

905-706-5806

Yvonne Peters

Council of Canadians with Disabilities

204-794-7902

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Consumer protection in air travel has faced serious regulatory, industry, and political headwinds in the pandemic era and the Canadian Transportation Agency (CTA), which is charged with regulating passenger air travel, has proposed additional changes to the APPR. Our joint submissions to the CTA seek to bring Canada’s air passenger protection rules up to international standards, so that passengers are issued compensation for cancellations and excessive delays, provided support in airports during delays, and given full rights when denied boarding.

The CTA consultation proposed half-measures to improve Canada’s air passenger protections such as proposing to emulate the European Union’s rules that require passenger compensation for delays and cancellations in all but “exceptional circumstances”. It also claims they will remove the much hated “for safety reasons” category of incidents where airlines can deny compensation. However, the CTA paper also lists for consideration numerous potential “exceptional circumstances” that appear to mirror the present “for safety reasons” loophole. The CTA paper also claims the burden of proof for denying passenger compensation will be on the airline, but the potential for excessive exceptions may undo this reversal.

“We have provided the CTA with a consumer-first roadmap to the best practices worldwide,” said Dr. Gábor Lukács, President of APR. “The CTA can choose to materially improve air travel for Canadians prior to the next holiday season by ensuring compensation, passenger care and respect for travellers are of paramount importance in the system.”

John Lawford, Executive Director of PIAC added: “No consumer will argue against an airline claiming safety is a first priority, but the real issue is why consumers should be the insurers of airline profitability for crew shortages, equipment failure or scheduling changes that strand passengers, often without compensation, away from home, when they have paid for air travel.”

Professor Pavlović’s work focuses on the rules for consumer redress. She noted that: “Our concerns with the proposed changes is that if they are not properly designed, consumers may face a difficult to navigate complaint system and the backlog of complaints may grow. This is avoidable by prioritizing transparency, fairness and predictability – largely by simplifying the categories that can lead to a dispute.”

About PIAC

The Public Interest Advocacy Centre is a national not-for-profit corporation and a federally registered charity that protects consumer interest in regulated industries such as telecommunications, energy, financial services, privacy and transportation.

For further information, please contact:

John Lawford

Executive Director and General Counsel, PIAC

Tel: 613-562-4002 x 125

Email: jlawford@piac.ca
Twitter: @CanadaPIAC
Facebook: http://facebook.com/CanadaPIAC

About Air Passenger Rights

Air Passenger Rights is Canada’s independent, nonprofit organization of volunteers working to make the travelling public aware of its rights and capable of enforcing them. The organization’s mission is to turn helpless passengers into empowered travelers through education, advocacy, investigation, and litigation.

For further information, please contact:
Dr. Gábor Lukács
Email: lukacs@AirPassengerRights.ca
Twitter: @AirPassRightsCA
Facebook: http://facebook.com/AirPassengerRights

About Professor Pavlović

Marina Pavlović is an Associate Professor at the Faculty of Law, Common Law Section at the University of Ottawa and is a member of its Centre for Law, Technology and Society.

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