Yes, that's a big one.
Transport 2000 and other bodies militated long and hard during the merger frenzy between Air Canada and Canadian International Airlines. We were afraid of a duopoly becoming a monopoly. We advocated rather hard for an airlines complaints commissioner to be named, and we surprisingly got the support of Gerry Schwartz, among others, who was somewhere in that time looking at buying the whole caboodle. He didn't buy it, but the idea gained some credence. Minister Collenette appointed a commissioner for a six-month period, Bruce Hood. Another commissioner was appointed after his term, and then the position disappeared.
The firm position of Transport 2000 is there should be an airline complaints commissioner. This position should be established and made permanent. It's not good enough to simply send a letter to a faceless bureaucrat at the Canadian Transportation Agency, see it disappear into the maw of the bureaucracy, and for the public not to get feedback as to where this is going.
Madam Kenniff and Mr. Hood both published reports periodically outlining the trends. This is something you get in the States, practically without asking. We think Canada should join nations like the U.S.A. that require reporting on complaints and the number and types of complaints. We should go back to our good habit of having a commissioner who reports back to the public as to what was done.
Air Canada has a person who is responsible for complaints, but again, that's inside the company and it's not good enough. So we strongly believe that the Government of Canada should appoint an airline complaints commissioner on a permanent basis.