Transport committee  Thanks very much for the question. With respect to interswitching, it will require a legislative change first, so that will need to be considered by Parliament. Following that, this is a tool that shippers could use in their negotiations with the railways.

Transport committee  Once that amendment comes forward, it will be clear in terms of the process by which that method will be enabled.

Transport committee  With respect to conducting an investigation, you're quite right just in terms of looking at the details of what happened over the course of the holidays. That is something the agency is empowered to do in terms of complaints that are brought before it. It can look at those individual cases and make those determinations as those complaints come forward, with respect to what the individual circumstances were, and make rulings based on what it has before it.

Transport committee  In terms of the mandate, Mr. Chair, that's a reporting accountability both to the minister and to Parliament.

Transport committee  A number of factors can prompt changes. They include discussions with stakeholders, as was referenced earlier. A summit that the minister hosted last week with industry partners, including consumer groups, is one way of looking at how improvements can be made, which also include tools that the agency may or may not have to improve the efficiency of the overall national transportation system.

Transport committee  Thank you for the question, Mr. Chair. With regard to the operational issues that may occur as a result of airport operations or instructions from traffic control, these kinds of issues are deemed to be outside a carrier's control, generally speaking. There isn't any provision to be able to recoup anything from those service providers who may have instigated a particular delay or instance of a problem where it resulted in a complaint from a passenger.

Transport committee  I'll defer to my colleague from the agency on the details of this. For the specific details around a given situation, it's up to the agency to ask carriers for information pertaining to the incident. They're able to work with the airline to determine what the specific circumstances were around any specific incident.

Transport committee  With regard to determinations, there is a process by which, as you know, the agency undertakes to determine the degree of control that is applied in any specific complaint that has been filed with the agency. Typically, situations of control can pertain to operational issues that the airline may face with respect to their network, and where it's determined that they did have a degree of control over that, it is determined to be within their control.

Transport committee  As you and other committee members are aware, there is currently a labour issue before the court with respect to staffing, or the degree to which claims of staff shortages could be considered a safety issue. It would be inappropriate to comment on that specific case. That is why, as well, the agency is there to adjudicate—to make sure rights are respected.

Transport committee  The degree to which that is interpreted as a safety issue is currently the subject of court proceedings. It would be inappropriate for me to comment on the specifics of those proceedings until that is resolved.

Transport committee  There are, of course, a number of cases where it's clear there isn't a dispute. The passenger is encouraged to work with the airline first, in order to ensure their complaint can be addressed by the carrier. When there isn't a resolution with the carrier directly, it goes to the agency for interpretation around the facts in that specific situation.

Transport committee  Good afternoon. Bonjour. Thank you, Mr. Chair, for inviting me to speak with you today. It is my pleasure to join you and the honourable members of this committee. I welcome this opportunity to share how the Government of Canada has been working to strengthen Canada's air passenger rights regime.

Transport committee  No, the minister does not have authorities to.... I know he's in a position to direct operators. Again, we sort of set the regulatory framework broadly. It is up to partners in the system—airports, carriers, agencies—to conduct the work that's needed to manage staffing levels and operational changes in the way they see fit to address the services they're providing.

Transport committee  Right. As I mentioned in my opening remarks, there has been a confluence of factors. Of course, as we're noting, the labour shortage across the sector has been a significant challenge for airports and air service operators, and I think that is something that is staying with us.

Transport committee  It is challenging, because there are many factors at play. Of course, there are factors at play in arriving at the airport and being ready to be screened and getting through screening in time for your flight. There are also factors in terms of aircraft arriving and the process by which, particularly internationally, you're coming back into Canada.