Canadian Janay Nugent works on her computer in her London hotel room.Randy Quan
As Britain dispatched three Royal Navy warships to continental Europe to pick up nationals stranded by the volcanic ash plume, Canadians cooling their heels overseas wondered why their government wasn't taking such heroic actions.
"They should be doing something to help us," said Janay Nugent-Moulton, a history professor at the University of Lethbridge whose flight from London was one of hundreds cancelled because of the shifting plume of ash. "The government has a responsibility for Canadians who are trapped abroad."
By contrast, the British government is taking the situation much more seriously, she said.
British Prime Minister Gordon Brown sent an aircraft carrier and an assault ship to continental Europe to pick up stranded Britons, and a third ship, on its way to Spain to pick up troops, may also be used to return civilians. The British government was also trying to arrange to bring citizens in Africa and Asia back through Spanish airports, with the final leg of the trip by land or ferry.
The French have also been hands on. France's consul general to Canada, Jerome Cauchard, made a trip to Pearson Airport in Toronto Monday to make sure stranded French citizens have a place to stay.
Prof. Nugent-Moulton said Ottawa should have taken action similar to what Britain has done, chartering buses to get Canadians to a British port, and then back to Canada by ship. Or it could have taken people by bus to southern European airports that are still open, and perhaps used military planes to assist in the airlift.
She was one of about 200 people who descended on the Canadian High Commission in London Monday to seek assistance.
Commission staff were polite and sympathetic, she said, but offered little help beyond giving advice as to how to renew drug prescriptions that were running low.
Ambra Dickie, a spokeswoman for Foreign Affairs, said Canada will rescue citizens only if their safely and security is in danger. That's not the case in western Europe, she said, "so at this time we're not proceeding with any sort of evacuation."
Embassy staff will help individuals find hotels, and might lend money in certain circumstances, she said.
Prof. Nugent-Moulton, who was in Oxford, England, last week to present a paper, acknowledged that most Canadians are not in a life-and-death situation, but said some people are suffering serious hardships. "We're not in Sudan. We're not somewhere war-torn where our lives are in imminent danger, but the fact is people are running out of money. This is going to be financial disaster for a lot of individuals."
She is concerned a prolonged delay might force her to miss her son's first birthday on May 1. While she hopes to get home on a flight out of London Tuesday, she has contingency plans to travel overland to Italy and fly out of Rome on April 30. She described herself as "travel literate," but said she is worried about seniors who, "all of a sudden, may have to navigate Europe ... by multiple types of transportation. It's just way too daunting for them."
Celia Posyniak, a medical clinic manager from Calgary who is also stuck in London, said it has been frustrating to hear of Canadians sloughing off the issue as a minor inconvenience. She said it is particularly annoying to receive e-mails from home telling her to enjoy her extra time, because the situation is so stressful and discouraging.
Ms. Posyniak, who was travelling with her 27-year-old daughter, said she has been getting up during the night to check on her Air Canada flight on her iPhone. As soon as it says it is cancelled, she rebooks.
At the same time, her hotel has been jacking up its prices, moving the rate Monday from £75 a night to £135, and promising to boost it daily.
"For Canadians sitting here in London, we're hearing how the British government is getting out the military to bring everybody home," she said. Canada "should step up to the plate like the British have done."
Jason Pannozzo, a Canadian who was supposed to be in Britain for just four days and is now stuck, said the essence of the message from the Canadian embassy is that "the government doesn't deem this a high priority."
Some kind of arrangement to get people home by boat should have been considered, he said. "Ships have been coming across the pond for years. I don't see why they can't send some help now."