Mr. Speaker, Bill S-23 is an act to amend the Carriage by Air Act. There are opportunities to improve air transportation in this country and not only by this act. I will put forward a challenge on this in a very short while.
Air transportation in this country has evolved to become a major component of our way of life and the way we do our business. We will all be travelling back to our constituencies during the upcoming recess and a vast majority of us will depend upon air transportation to get us home.
Air is the only form of transportation to access communities in certain regions of this vast country of ours. Air transportation moves the basic necessities of life such as food and other cargo into isolated and remote areas. These isolated and remote areas depend upon good service from air carriers, but if these services are not available, then good sound legislation is of utmost importance.
The modernizing of our Carriage by Air Act is long overdue. The last update was in 1964, almost 40 years ago. There has been a lot of developments in the air transportation industry since then. There has hardly been any development on the issue of a passengers bill of rights.
In the old bills, and it was adopted in this one, only $35 could be assured for luggage and cargo loss. I had not realized this until I read the bill. A few years ago I had a carry on bag with sound equipment and photography equipment in it. Somebody walked off with it at the next stopover. When we arrived at our destination, my bag was missing. I had $1,300 of equipment missing and the offer made to me was $35. I could never figure out where the $35 came from. It comes from the Guadalajara convention of 1961.
There are international agreements that bind our nations, such as the 1988 Montreal protocol. All Canada is doing with Bill S-23 is modernizing and updating it to its international standards.
The challenge I want to place before the House and the government is that we have a Canadian passengers bill of rights.
We hear of recent developments on the news and in the media about the Americans. Our neighbours to the south are just as dependent on air transportation as we are, going between the east and west coasts. In the Swissair disaster, the victims' families were protected under the American passengers bill of rights.
We wonder what kind of protection we have as passengers, and what protection our families have, when looking at disasters that have hit our airports and airlines in recent years. Our situation forces us to use air transportation. Other situations loom before us in terms of a passengers bill of rights.
A snowstorm hit eastern Canada this past winter. Passengers were inconvenienced and left stranded in Canadian airports. Toronto was a prime example. Passengers were the last to know of any developments in the weather or decisions being made by the air carriers regarding the rescheduling of flights or arrangements for overnight accommodation. We saw pictures of passengers sleeping on benches in the airports. There were stories of lost cargo and luggage. This is a challenge for the government to look at a sound and safe passenger bill of rights.
A new territory was born on April 1. We hear stories that the entire territory does not have any highways to connect any of its communities unless it is winter travel by snow machine or dog team. They depend on air transportation.
The primary air transportation responsibility is highlighted in this bill. People switch from one airline to another. They may end up on six different airlines to reach their destination because of the huge explosion of other air transportation systems after deregulation of air transportation in the country.
We have to look at protection and who is responsible. It is highlighted in the bill that the primary air carrier will be responsible for passengers rights, whatever limited rights there are in the act. It does not matter whether passengers transfer flights. As long as the first air carrier on the ticket is listed, that is who is responsible for the passengers rights.
We support Bill S-23 and the updating of the Carriage by Air Act. It is an international standard act. I must repeat that we need a Canadian bill of rights for passengers, for our citizens and for visitors whom we wholeheartedly welcome into the country, as we just recently did with the Kosovar refugees. Tourists drive the economy of many regions of the country, especially during the spring and summer.
I wish everyone safe travel this weekend. I welcome and wish all passengers and refugees who have come to our country safe travel.