Thank you, Madam Chair.
Members of the committee, thank you for undertaking this study of Bill C‑31. I'm very pleased to speak with you today about this bill and the future of air passenger protections in Canada.
Air passenger protections play an important role in ensuring that travellers are treated fairly when their travel plans are disrupted, but we also recognize that the way these protections are delivered needs to improve. Travellers need a system that is clear, effective and capable of resolving complaints in a timely manner.
On May 1, I announced the government's commitment to eliminating the backlog of air passenger complaints and rebuilding travellers' trust in Canada's air travel system. Bill C‑31 contains important measures to delivering on that commitment. Today, I would like to focus on three key areas.
First, we need to streamline passenger protection regulations to make them clearer, easier to enforce and more effective while taking the needs of a competitive air sector into consideration.
Second, we need to clear the backlog of complaints and improve how future complaints are handled to ensure travellers receive faster responses and solutions.
Third, we need to strengthen accountability by enhancing transparency and giving the Canadian Transportation Agency more effective tools to enforce regulations.
Bill C-31 includes important measures to deliver on our commitment to eliminate the backlog of air passenger complaints and rebuild travellers' trust in Canada's air travel system. Let me briefly expand on how we will do this.
First, we are streamlining the air passenger protection regulations, or APPR. Bill C-31 transfers regulation-making authority for the air passenger protection regulations from the Canadian Transportation Agency to me as Minister of Transport. This will allow Transport Canada to develop a simpler, clearer regulatory framework that better reflects the government's commitment to passengers.
To ensure continuity while the new framework is developed, the existing regulations will remain in place until the new regulations have gone through all the required steps.
Second, we are addressing the backlog and improving complaint resolution. When travel plans are disrupted, passengers deserve timely and effective resolution. The current backlog has made that more difficult and has undermined confidence in the complaints process.
Bill C-31 would provide the flexibility to transfer the processing of outstanding complaints from the CTA to an alternative dispute resolution provider. While this would help accelerate the resolution of outstanding complaints, Canadians must be confident that the process remains fair, impartial and focused on the traveller's best interests. I am, therefore, open to considering ways to further reassure Canadians that alternative dispute resolution providers will act independently and in the interest of travellers.
It would also enable the development of a more efficient complaint resolution method for the future by drawing on approaches that have shown real-world results, notably in Europe.
The goal is straightforward: to help travellers get answers and resolve their complaints more efficiently.
Third, we are strengthening accountability and enforcement. Passenger protections must be backed by meaningful consequences when obligations are not met. Bill C-31 would give the CTA stronger tools to enforce the rules, including increasing maximum fines to $1 million. It would also make the complaints process more transparent by removing the current confidentiality requirements imposed on passengers.
Together, these changes would help hold airlines accountable and give travellers greater confidence that their rights will be respected.
In closing, I would say Bill C‑31 is an important step toward a more effective, transparent and fair air passenger regime. By simplifying regulations, accelerating complaint resolution and strengthening enforcement mechanisms, we can better protect travellers' rights and build a system that works more effectively for everyone.
Thank you.