Evidence of meeting #17 for Transport, Infrastructure and Communities in the 39th Parliament, 1st Session. (The original version is on Parliament’s site, as are the minutes.) The winning word was consumers.

A recording is available from Parliament.

On the agenda

MPs speaking

Also speaking

Fred Gaspar  Vice-President, Policy and Strategic Planning, Air Transport Association of Canada
Michael Pepper  President and Chief Executive Officer for Travel Industry Council of Ontario, Travellers' Protection Initiative
Christiane Théberge  Vice-President, Public Affairs and GM Eastern Canada for the Association of Canadian Travel agencies (ACTA) , Travellers' Protection Initiative
Michael Janigan  Executive Director and General Counsel for Public Interest Advocacy Centre, Travellers' Protection Initiative
Marie-Hélène Beaulieu  Option consommateurs

5:25 p.m.

Liberal

David McGuinty Liberal Ottawa South, ON

That would be helpful, I think, for me and my colleagues.

5:25 p.m.

President and Chief Executive Officer for Travel Industry Council of Ontario, Travellers' Protection Initiative

Michael Pepper

There is a distinct difference between the charter carriers and the wholesalers who put leisure package tours together and sell them to the consumer. There is a responsibility on the wholesaler when they put a package tour together, which is a leisure product; if any component of that package is not provided, it's their responsibility to replace it. That's what the compensation fund is for, primarily.

To Mr. Lussier's point with respect to the confusion about who pays what, our concern is that we, the travel agents and wholesalers who we represent, are paying for airline failure. Our compensation fund, which is not financed by airlines, is paying for their failures, and that's wrong. That needs to be addressed.

Sure, I think we need to give you some more information on the difference between the charters and the difference between the scheduled carriers and what the protections are, so that you can make an informed decision.

5:25 p.m.

Conservative

The Chair Conservative Merv Tweed

Thank you, Mr. Pepper, and I'd ask you to forward it through the clerk so he can distribute it.

As the time clock has run out, I would like to thank you for presenting here today. We appreciate your time and look forward to meeting you again in the future.

To my colleagues, happy Thanksgiving. We'll see you back here in a week or so.

The meeting is adjourned.