Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Thank you for being here today. We appreciate it.
I'm Tracy Gray. I'm the member of Parliament for Kelowna—Lake Country, and I'm the Conservative vice-chair here. I'm wearing a black blazer and a mint green blouse. I have shoulder-length blonde hair, and I'm wearing a poppy.
First of all, just before I get into my questions, I want to be clear that the Conservatives supported the Canada disability benefit all the way through, at every stage of the legislative process, and we continue to support it. I just wanted to let you know that. I've expressed this to many disability groups and want to assure you of that here today, as well as any people who are listening.
The first thing I wanted to ask you about is recent reports of a passenger with a service dog who was kicked off a Porter Airlines flight in violation of Canadian Transportation Agency rules. The flight attendant on board attempted to put the service dog under the seat, ignoring clear rules stating that service animals can lie on the floor or even receive their own seat if they're larger service animals. Porter did not initially offer to refund or reimburse this passenger until media attention brought their situation to light.
My question for you, as the president of CNIB guide dogs, is this: How common is it that service animal regulations are being ignored in federally regulated transportation spaces like airlines or railways?