The 168-page 2022 Air Canada annual report and the 180-page 2021 Air Canada annual report mention “disability” or “disabilities” only a couple of times, and it's exclusively around hiring. I think that people hearing that would find it difficult to believe that this is a priority for Air Canada. I'm not sure how Air Canada can be taking improving its service levels seriously when it's not even mentioned in your annual reports.
I want to go ahead here because my time is limited. We only have an hour with Air Canada, with no other witnesses being called.
I have approval from the chair of Disability Without Poverty, Michelle Hewitt, to bring forth her comments today. I will read some of them into the record:
One of the areas that concerns me is what happens when flights are delayed. The burden is heavy on disabled travellers who have often chosen the time and route with great deliberation so that it fits with medication schedules and other bodily needs. If a connection is missed, disabled travellers need more support than is typically offered if meals and accommodation are needed.
Mr. Rousseau, would you agree that persons with disabilities are disproportionately affected by travel delays?