Conservatives, NDP call for urgent committee meeting on holiday travel mess | 24CA News
The federal Conservatives and NDP are calling on the Liberal transport minister to testify after lots of of travellers had been stranded over the vacations.
The Conservative and New Democrat members of the House of Commons transport committee despatched a letter to the committee’s chair on Wednesday requesting a gathering as quickly as potential.
“It’s not enough for the Liberal minister to tweet that the situation was unacceptable,” NDP transport critic Taylor Bachrach mentioned in a media assertion on Wednesday.
“He’s the minister charged with overseeing Canada’s transportation system and has specific powers under legislation. If anyone can do something to protect passengers, it’s him. Canadians deserve to know what steps he took during the crisis and plans to take in the future to protect passengers.”
The chair of the committee, Liberal member of Parliament Peter Schiefke, tweeted Tuesday that he deliberate to name a gathering to handle journey woes with the CEOs of Sunwing Airlines and VIA Rail.
The opposition MPs are requesting that any hearings additionally embody a two-hour question-and-answer interval with Transport Minister Omar Alghabra.
Standing committees often meet on a beforehand adopted schedule or when referred to as by the chair, however a gathering will be referred to as on the written request of any 4 of its members.
In addition to Bachrach, the Conservative Party’s transport critic Mark Strahl signed the letter, as did the opposite three Tories on the committee.
The chair is now required to name a gathering to think about the written request inside 5 calendar days.
NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh mentioned earlier Wednesday that the journey woes that left passengers stranded at airports or struggling to seek out flights dwelling over the vacations present there must be extra competitors in Canada’s airspace.
In a press convention, Singh mentioned the shortage of alternative for passengers can also be making flying much less inexpensive. He’s calling on the Liberal authorities to seek out methods to make the airline trade extra aggressive.
The Canadian Transportation Agency requires home air service operators to be majority-owned and managed by Canadians, limiting choices for travellers — particularly in rural or distant areas.
Over the vacations, lots of of individuals had been stranded in Mexico when Sunwing cancelled flights, and the airline has stopped flying from Saskatchewan completely till subsequent month.
Air Canada is discontinuing flights from Saskatoon and Regina to Calgary this month after it discontinued flights from Yellowknife to Edmonton final yr.
Singh referred to as on Alghabra to make sure there may be higher oversight.
“We need to make sure people have access to being able to get around the country, and that it is affordable,” Singh mentioned.
“And right now, for many people, it is not at all. It’s something we need to look at and find solutions for.”
A spokesperson for Alghabra’s workplace mentioned the federal government is doing the whole lot it may to help travellers.
“All options are on the table to ensure that what happened over the holidays does not happen again,” Nadine Ramadan mentioned in a written assertion.
