Thank you, Madam Chair.
I'm pleased to be here with the Canadian Lung Association and my colleague Dr. Kovesi.
I'm an allergist who personally doesn't have allergies and who has owned both cats and dogs, some of which have travelled with me on planes, but safely in the cargo hold. With these pressurized areas guaranteeing safe transport of animals, my question to committee members and to the airlines is why should we jeopardize the health and safety of humans by allowing pets in the main cabins of planes?
As committee members may know, and as Mary Allen has already pointed out, the prevalence of animal allergies in our general population is high, with estimates suggesting that 10% of individuals are allergic to cats, and 5% to dogs. There's such a high incidence that the likelihood of someone having an allergic reaction to cats and dogs on any large commercial airline, or at least having exposure, is close to 100%, and there's certainly a significant risk of reactions.
As a physician, I must say that many of my patients have raised the issue of allowing pets on planes and expressed their concerns over the matter. One of these patients who's allergic to cats had cat exposure on a recent flight to Ottawa to receive a national award for her contributions to science. The flare-up of her severe asthma forced her to stay an additional three days in Ottawa for medical attention and prevented her from carrying on to Boston to visit her grandchildren, which she was looking forward to. She's now very reluctant to get on any airplane.
Another young woman who's highly allergic to cats contacted me from the U.K. regarding her return flight. She was just being released from hospital after a one-week stay because of her asthma. Needless to say, both she and I were very worried that she might have an acute exacerbation if she had cat exposure on the flight. Managing this somewhere over the Atlantic Ocean would be a nightmare.
Although some pet-allergic individuals will have only eye and nose symptoms with exposure, cat and dog allergens are major triggers of severe asthma attacks in others. These can be life-threatening, as Jill has told you. A single exposure, even treated aggressively, can lead to persistent symptoms for days.
The greatest risk of reaction is to those sitting nearby an animal and those who cannot avoid exposure. This would include flight attendants who suffer from allergies to animals. All allergists and respirologists have numerous patients who develop severe asthma when exposed to cats and dogs.
With the vast distances between our cities in our country, everyone should have the right to safe air travel. The alternative modes of transportation for many of us are simply impractical, as would have been mine coming from Vancouver yesterday.
An additional concern raised by many with whom I speak is hygiene. Do you really want to sit next to a cat or dog? I don't, and I must admit I also prefer not to have to spend my flight attending to someone with a severe asthma attack.
If breeders of cats and dogs ship their highly prized animals in the cargo hold of planes, surely this is appropriate for an individual with a single pet. Why should a small minority of individuals jeopardize the comfort and health of the much larger population who have the misfortune of being allergic to pets? Safe air travel entails more than appropriate maintenance of aircraft. Ensuring such for all Canadians requires legislation or regulations restricting pets from the cabins of aircraft.
Thank you, Madam Chair.