Hello,
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says his government is committed to beefing up the passengers bill of rights in the wake of travel chaos over the holidays.
“We recognize that things have been very difficult over the past year for travellers and there are even larger challenges that have come up. For example, we saw it over the holidays, " Mr. Trudeau told a news conference in Ottawa on Thursday.
“So I can assure you that, yes, we are looking at strengthening and improving and to make even more relevant the protections for travellers under the charter. So, yes, we are looking at what more to do.”
The bill of rights, enacted in 2019, is intended to clarify for travellers what they can expect in terms of service or compensation if their travel arrangements be disrupted by events within the control of airlines.
Mr. Trudeau’s comments came as federal politicians grilled executives of Canadian airlines and airports over the holiday travel disruptions, calling the wave of cancelled and delayed flights a “disaster” that ruined winter getaway plans and kept families apart at Christmas.
Members of the transport committee called the company representatives to the meeting to explain why so many of their customers endured long delays, cancellations and lost luggage while travelling over the Christmas break. Hundreds of Sunwing Airlines customers were stranded in sun resorts for days with little or no communications from the carrier.
“This holiday season was a complete disaster for my constituents and Canadians across the country,” said Calgary member of Parliament George Chahal.
Transportation reporter Eric Atkins reports on the hearing here. Mr. Atkins also takes a broader look at travel issues here.
Details on the committee meeting, including a videolink to watch the proceedings, are here. The proceedings are set to conclude at at 4:30 pm. ET.
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TODAY'S HEADLINES
RADAR SHOWS 2,000 AREAS OF INTEREST AT SASKATCHEWAN RESIDENTIAL SCHOOL - The Star Blanket Cree Nation in Saskatchewan says ground-penetrating radar has discovered more than 2,000 areas of interest and a child’s bone at the site of one of the longest-running residential schools in the country. Story here.
JAPAN PM OUTLINES AGENDA FOR OTTAWA VISIT - Prime Minister Fumio Kishida of Japan says he will raise global security challenges, from the war in Ukraine to China’s aggression in the Indo-Pacific, while pushing to strengthen trade and energy ties in talks with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Thursday. Story here.
RULING FAVORS CANADA AND MEXICO IN AUTO DISPUTE WITH U.S. - Arbitration under the USMCA has ruled in favour of Canada and Mexico in a dispute with the United States over regional content rules for automobiles – a ruling that comes as a relief to one of this country’s largest and most critical manufacturing sectors. Story here.
PM HEDGES ON POSSIBILITY OF MILITARY MISSION TO HAITI - Prime Minister Justin Trudeau hedged Wednesday when asked whether Canada was prepared to lead a military mission to Haiti and he declined to say whether Ottawa has run out of soldiers to deploy. Story here.
CABINET MINISTERS TO LOOK AT GOVERNMENT USE OF CONSULTING FIRM - Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has asked two of his cabinet ministers to take a closer look at the federal government’s increasing use of the McKinsey and Company consulting firm after opposition parties called this week for an investigation. Story here.
ONTARIO OPPOSITION LEADERS SEEK REVIEW OF GOVERNMENT GREENBELT POLICY - All three of Ontario’s opposition leaders have joined together to ask the province’s Auditor-General to investigate the Progressive Conservative government’s move to carve 7,400 acres out of the protected Greenbelt for housing developers. Story here.
PROFESSOR TO PROBE WHITE SUPREMACY IN ARMED FORCES - The Department of National Defence has awarded a grant to a University of Alberta professor to conduct a deep dive into the extent of white supremacy in the Canadian Armed Forces. Story here.
TRIAL DATE SET FOR ACCUSED IN DEATHS OF MUSLIM FAMILY - The trial for Nathanial Veltman, charged with killing a Muslim family in London, Ont., in 2021, will be held in Windsor, Ont., starting in September. The tragedy prompted a debate on Islamophobia and concerted political attention including a visit to London, in the aftermath, by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, Ontario Premier Doug Ford and other political leaders. Story here from CBC.
FEDERAL CABINET RETREAT IN HAMILTON - Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is set to hold a three-day cabinet retreat in Hamilton, Ont., later this month. Story here from Global News.
NO MEDIA QUESTIONS FOR POILIEVRE - Federal Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre will be in Winnipeg for various events on Friday, but will not take media questions. Story here from The Winnipeg Free Press.
THIS AND THAT
HOUSE ON A BREAK – The House of Commons is on a break until Jan. 30.
MINISTERS ON THE ROAD - International Development Minister Harjit. Sajjan continues an official visit to Barbados and Jamaica.
WILKINSON TO JAPAN - In the wake of Thursday’s visit to Ottawa by Japan’s Prime Minister, Natural Resources Minister Jonathan Wilkinson and a business delegation representing several natural-resources sectors are headed for Japan - specifically Tokyo - on Sunday. The visit runs until Jan. 19 and will see the delegation, including four Indigenous organizations, meet with Japanese business leaders. The minister will also meet with ministerial-level counterparts.
MARLAND TO ACADIA UNIVERSITY - Alex Marland, a political scientist and prolific award-winning author on politics at Memorial University in St. John’s is taking on a new job at Acadia University in Wolfville, N.S. As of July 1, he will be the inaugural Jarislowsky Chair in Trust and Political Leadership for Acadia - the Atlantic appointee among five such positions being created across Canada. The announcement is here. “We’re going to work together to train a new generation of political leaders. Politicians, political staff, community leaders and other public figures are going to be engaged through speaking roles and leadership events,” Mr. Marland said in a statement. “There will be new courses and programs. Students will go on field trips to legislatures. And we’re going to spark new research about political leadership.”
NEW BANK OF CANADA DIRECTORS - Three new directors have been appointed to the board of the Bank of Canada by Chrystia Freeland, the Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister. They are David Dominy, Ernie Daniels, and Shelley Williams. The board consists of a governor, senior deputy governor and 12 independent directors appointed to three-year terms.
PRIME MINISTER'S DAY
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, in Ottawa, held private meetings, and then met with Kishida Fumio, the visiting Prime Minister of Japan. Mr. Trudeau was then scheduled to participate in an expanded meeting with the Japanese Prime Minister, with International Trade Minister Mary Ng, Foreign Affairs Minister Mélanie Joly, and Innovation Minister François-Philippe Champagne attending. The Prime Minister was then scheduled to host a official luncheon with Mr. Fumio followed by a joint media availability with the prime minister.
LEADERS
Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre was scheduled to attend a party fundraiser organized by Selkirk-Interlake-Eastman MP James Bezan held at a private residence in Winnipeg. Tickets for the event are $1,700.
No schedules released for other party leaders.
THE DECIBEL
On Thursday’s edition of The Globe and Mail podcast, retailing reporter Susan Krashinsky Robertson talks about the growing demand for food waste apps from both shoppers and grocers. The apps have been touted as a way for people to score deals as food prices rise, while cutting back on food being thrown out by retailers. The Decibel is here.
OPINION
The Globe and Mail Editorial Board on how Toronto needs to map out a better route for transit funding: “Transit advocates are absolutely right that cutting service is the exact opposite of what’s needed to retain riders, draw back former riders and attract new ones. But the real question isn’t about parsing a limited budget in a particularly troubled time. It’s figuring out longer-term solutions. A key issue is the overall level of funding.”
Lawrence Martin (The Globe and Mail) on how Canada is going to be drawn closer to the U.S., whether we like it or not: “A good sign from the Mexico summit is that the Canada-U.S. relationship has been stabilized. During the Trump administration, in which Canadian attitudes toward Americans sunk to an all-time low, the Three Amigos get-togethers weren’t even held. At this one, Mr. Biden and Mr. Trudeau reached a deal to repair the Nexus border-crossing system; Mr. Trudeau pledged to purchase an American missile system to be donated to Ukraine; and Mr. Biden scheduled, at long last, a visit to Canada. It was an indication among many signals that the course of the bilateral relationship now is toward greater integration. Today’s world, as described by Goldy Hyder, head of the Business Council of Canada, requires the North American leaders to think about their politics in self-contained continentwide terms, rather than in discrete individual countries.”
Gary Mason (The Globe and Mail) on the question of how much Alberta’s politicians really care about climate change: “In the 2019 federal election, Justin Trudeau’s Liberal Party announced that if elected, the government would introduce the ‘Just Transition Act,’ which would give workers and communities dependent on the oil and gas industry the training and support they need to thrive in the clean, green economy of the future. The announcement garnered little attention at the time. And after the Liberals won re-election, it was basically forgotten. Until now.”
Phillip Lipscy (Contributed to The Globe and Mail) on how Japan and Canada must commit to an ambitious upgrade of their relationship: “With Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida arriving in Ottawa for his first bilateral visit to Canada on Thursday, it’s time for Canada and Japan to rethink their relationship. Both Mr. Kishida and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau are currently overseeing historic shifts to their countries’ foreign policies. Japan recently unveiled a pivotal national security strategy that decisively breaks the long-standing norm of keeping defence expenditures below 1 per cent of GDP. Meanwhile, Canada has announced its much-awaited Indo-Pacific Strategy, which promises a “generational Canadian response” to the rising influence of the region.”
Ratna Omidvar and Julie Miville-Dechêne (Contributed to The Globe and Mail) on how Canada can do more to help Iran’s imprisoned protesters: “Already, more than 300 parliamentarians in Germany, France and Austria have agreed to symbolically ‘sponsor’ death row inmates to draw attention to their fate. In Canada, over a dozen parliamentarians have joined the movement so far. We sponsor a young teacher from Tehran, Mona Afsami, who was arrested on Oct. 19 and has been accused of collusion against national security. The Canadian government could also take inspiration from other countries to increase pressure on the Iranian regime. Three avenues are possible.”
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