MPs on the House of Commons transport committee have voted unanimously to invite federal Transport Minister Omar Alghabra to testify, after thousands of Canadians were left stranded during the Christmas holidays.
The committee met on Jan. 9 after the Conservative and NDP members requested the chair call an urgent meeting to discuss travel delays and the treatment of air and rail passengers over the holiday season.
Conservative MP Mark Strahl said travellers were sleeping on the floors of hotels and were trapped on trains for hours, even after Alghabra promised these problems would be fixed following similar incidents over the summer.“We were promised, frankly, by the Liberal minister that these matters were addressed, that he had it under control, that the broken system had been fixed,” Strahl said.
“Clearly, it has not been fixed—there are still massive problems.”
Beginning Dec. 22, thousands of passengers were left stranded after storms across the country caused cancelled or delayed flights, in some cases for over a week.
On Dec. 29, Sunwing announced that it was cancelling all flights at airports in Saskatoon and Regina due to “extenuating circumstances.” The cancellations went into immediate effect and applied to flights from both airports until Feb. 3, 2023.
In a statement, Alghabra’s office said the issues faced by Sunwing customers are unacceptable. He has also said he’s looking to strengthen air passenger protection regulations.
Other passengers travelling by rail from Ottawa to Toronto told CBC News their four-hour commute lasted more than 20 hours after a tree fell and struck a ViaRail train on Dec. 22.
The committee unanimously passed a motion seeking to undertake a study on the disruptions, to hold those responsible accountable and identify what actions are being taken to avoid a recurrence of the problems in the future.
The committee will invite air passenger advocates, affected travellers, Sunwing, Air Canada and WestJet, the Toronto, Montreal and Vancouver airport authorities, Via Rail and CN Rail, the Canadian Transportation Agency, Transport Canada, and the Minister of Transport to testify.
It wants to hold the first special meeting on Jan. 12. Testimony recorded at the meeting would become part of the committee’s ongoing study on passenger rights.
Bloc Quebecois MP Julie Vignola wondered if the industry had enough support from the government. She said she wants to hear from the minister, but also the industry and companies involved.
“This treatment provided to passengers once the storm is over must be questioned,” she said.
Meanwhile, Merchant Law Group LLP is looking at potentially starting a class action lawsuit against Sunwing Airlines for Canadian travellers who were affected by the company’s sudden cancellation of flights in Saskatchewan. The firm is inviting affected Sunwing customers to join the class action.
Sunwing has issued an apology to passengers who were left stranded, saying it is “incredibly sorry,” but added that “most of our customers enjoyed their holidays with minimal disruptions.”
The Canadian Press contributed to this report.
