In the airline industry, there are gaps right from the time you try to get online and book a ticket.
Most of us have to then go to the medical desk. Depending on who's on that desk and how they feel that day, there is no consistent way that the regulations are even looked at. They look at their own personal policies. That will determine whether you actually get a seat that you need. They predetermine everything, from whether you get the second seat for a guide dog to whether you get the second seat for a support person. By the way, they charge you taxes on that seat. They're not allowed to, but they do anyway. That needs to be resolved.
When you get to.... As David alluded to, every airport is different. Winnipeg now has a kiosk when you get to the curb. Unfortunately, it has a flat screen, so someone like me, who is blind, can't use it. At Vancouver airport, you call the main number, but it doesn't have a code for accessibility so that you can just call someone. If you call the Ottawa airport, they do. They say, if you're coming to the curb, press 3 and we'll get somebody. Somebody actually answers the phone, talks to you, arranges what time you'll be there approximately by taxi, and they're there waiting for you. As David said, there's no consistency.
Not every airline that flies out of this country follows the rules of Canada, because they're all domestic. We need to change that. I don't think Global Affairs should make a decision on what is right for Canada, whether we're going to make changes so that those regulations are also for international.
I personally have spent four hours parked at a gate waiting for a flight. No one comes to see me. There's no way to contact anyone. I have to go to the washroom. I can't get something to eat. I cannot use any of the airport services. We're moved like luggage from one end to the other. Sometimes, as David said, there are four or five people involved.
The way they move us is really demeaning. Sometimes you have to climb up onto a golf cart that, physically, you may not be able to get up on. They put their hands on your hips and they push you up onto it. Then when you get to the other end, they might park you somewhere and you have to wait for a person to show up with a wheelchair. Then that person will take you to another section where they drop you off again.
It's this constant going through and not being able to even grab a bite to eat because most of the people helping you are not assigned from the airlines to help you. They actually have to run back.