Bill C-327

Strengthening Air Passenger Protection Act

An Act to amend the Canada Transportation Act (air passenger protection)

Sponsor

Taylor Bachrach  NDP

Introduced as a private member’s bill. (These don’t often become law.)

Status

Outside the Order of Precedence (a private member's bill that hasn't yet won the draw that determines which private member's bills can be debated), as of March 20, 2023

Subscribe to a feed (what's a feed?) of speeches and votes in the House related to Bill C-327.

Summary

This is from the published bill.

This enactment amends the Canada Transportation Act to, among other things,
(a) require the Canadian Transportation Agency to make certain regulations in relation to an air carrier’s obligations towards its passengers, including regulations requiring an air carrier to pay minimum monetary compensation for inconvenience in the case of a flight delay, flight cancellation or denial of boarding that is not caused by extraordinary circumstances;
(b) set out what constitutes “extraordinary circumstances” for the purposes of the requirement to pay minimum monetary compensation;
(c) increase the maximum amounts of the fines payable in respect of certain offences under the Act that are punishable on summary conviction; and
(d) increase the maximum amounts of the administrative monetary penalties that the Canadian Transportation Agency may, by regulation, prescribe for the contravention of requirements under the Act that may be proceeded with as a violation.

Elsewhere

All sorts of information on this bill is available at LEGISinfo, an excellent resource from the Library of Parliament. You can also read the full text of the bill.

Strengthening Air Passenger Protection ActRoutine Proceedings

March 20th, 2023 / 3:25 p.m.

NDP

Taylor Bachrach NDP Skeena—Bulkley Valley, BC

moved for leave to introduce Bill C-327, An Act to amend the Canada Transportation Act (air passenger protection).

Mr. Speaker, I am proud to rise this afternoon to table the strengthening air passenger protections act. This bill comes on the heels of two seasons of air travel chaos that left air passengers sleeping on airport floors, missing important family trips and out thousands of dollars.

My bill would do four key things. First of all, it would close a loophole in the Canada Transportation Act that airlines have been using to deny passengers the compensation they are due. It would make compensation automatic. It would shift the burden of proof off passengers and squarely onto the airlines themselves. Finally, it would increase the financial penalties for non-compliance.

Most importantly, this bill would bring Canada's air passenger protection regime up to the standards set by the European Union, finally and for all time moving forward.

I will end by thanking the organizations Air Passenger Rights, the Public Interest Advocacy Centre and Option Consommateurs, whose hard work helped immeasurably in crafting this bill.

The government does not have to wait to debate my bill. It could take the ideas contained within and table a government bill. I hope it does that at the earliest opportunity.

(Motions deemed adopted, bill read the first time and printed)