Lawmakers on Monday grilled Air Canada’s chief executive officer for what they called “shocking” and “scandalous” treatment of passengers with disabilities.
At a House of Commons committee hearing on services for Canadians with disabilities, CEO Michael Rousseau faced a barrage of questions over reports of passenger abuse over the past year.
Vice-chairman Tracy Gray cited several “shocking” events that occurred in 2023, including: “An Air Canada passenger fell head first in an elevator and his ventilator was removed. left the wheelchair of Canada’s own chief accessibility officer behind on a trans-Canada flight, and when Air Canada staff did not use the elevator as requested, the man was dropped and injured.
In August, a man with spastic cerebral palsy was pulled off a plane due to lack of help, a situation that Bloc Quebecois MP Louise Chabot called a “scandal.”
Asked how Air Canada would improve its service, Rousseau said: “We make mistakes.” But he pointed to rapid accessibility plans announced in November and new measures to improve the travel experience for hundreds of thousands of passengers living with disabilities.
Last week, the company formed an advisory committee of customers with disabilities and developed a program to alert staff to the straps worn by travelers who may need assistance.
Ryan LaChance and his caregiver Emma Proulx say Air Canada flight attendants need better training to keep people with disabilities safe.
“The vast majority of customers who request accessibility support from Air Canada have a positive experience. There are exceptions, and we are responsible for those exceptions,” Rousseau said.
Last fall, he apologized for the airline’s failures.
NDP disability inclusion critic Bonita Zarrillo said Air Canada’s corporate culture and lack of enforcement by the federal government are responsible for the abuses, and despite regulatory reforms over the past five years, deficiencies sometimes He suggested that the problem is deeper than the blunders that occur.
“I don’t think we should be talking about outrageous, gross negligence or harm to the physical or dignity of people with disabilities. Their human rights violations should not be at the forefront.” she stated. Interview prior to public hearing.
Air Canada has apologized to a B.C. man after he was told he had to get to the front of the plane without any assistance from staff. The airline also admitted to breaching Canada’s Disability Act. Rodney Hodgins hopes this situation will lead to systemic change.
Complaints have been received from various quarters.
In December, the Canadian Paralympic Committee joined some para-athletes in calling for improved transportation to and from overseas competitions.
The call comes in response to repeated complaints from Paralympic athletes about damaged and destroyed equipment, as well as flight delays for athletes from Canada attempting to reach the Parapan American Games in Chile in November. That’s what it meant.
Last month, Air Canada appealed a decision by the country’s transportation regulator aimed at improving accessibility for travelers with disabilities. If successful, the measure would overturn the requirement to fully accommodate passengers whose wheelchairs are too large to move into aircraft cargo holds.
Air Canada has committed to rolling out a range of measures under its three-year accessibility plan, from establishing a customer accessibility director to consistent boarding of passengers who request elevator assistance first.
The Toronto-based company also aims to provide annual accessibility training to more than 10,000 airport employees, including on how to use the Eagle Lift. The company also plans to incorporate mobility aids into its baggage tracking app.
Parliamentarians and accessibility advocates point to holes in Canada’s accessible laws, saying they allow problems to persist in areas ranging from consultation to support protocols.
Heather Woakes, president of the Canadian Council for Persons with Disabilities, highlighted the lack of detail on how staff will be trained. She also cited rules that require federally regulated businesses to involve people with disabilities in the development of policies, programs and services, or “rules you can drive a truck through.” .
“If you send a manager to Tim Hortons and talk to someone in a wheelchair, you’ve consulted the disability community. That’s a checkoff,” she told The Canadian Press in November. She said the group she leads has not heard from Air Canada about the new accessibility blueprint.
Marketplace has an exclusive preview of a hidden camera investigation documenting a rarely seen first-hand account of the challenges faced by people with disabilities who fly.
Alessia Di Virgilio told CBC News Network. canada tonight She was “disappointed” by Rousseau’s testimony, saying he left many things unanswered.
Last year, the CBC market He and Di Virgilio flew Air Canada from Toronto to Charlottetown and back, where hidden cameras captured numerous incidents. Di Virgilio agreed to let her marketplace document her journey in order to raise her awareness of the trials that people who use wheelchairs go through when boarding planes.
Di Virgilio, who uses a power wheelchair, was taken off the ventilator during the trip and a lift fell on his head.
Di Virgilio said of Rousseau’s testimony: “You can’t accept the words ‘we will do better’ without seeing a clear strategy and what is being implemented, and we haven’t seen that yet.” Ta.
Di Virgilio said canada tonight Host Travis Danraj said he believes many problems could be avoided by allowing passengers to bring wheelchairs on planes.
“Air travel remains the last form of travel where people with disabilities need to get out of their wheelchairs,” she said.
“Until we can board a plane while seated on a mobility device, we are at risk.”
