Concluding a national aviation accessibility summit on Thursday, federal ministers said the industry had agreed to introduce common medical forms and explore improved data sharing, but did not announce any new penalties for mistreating travellers with disabilities.
The summit, first promised last year, was launched following reports of airlines allowing disabled passengers off planes without assistance and leaving behind vital equipment such as wheelchairs.
A day before the summit, Transport Minister Pablo Rodriguez said aviation industry representatives were attending in “good faith” and that the federal government would consider new “penalties”.
“It could have serious consequences,” he said. “Everything will be decided after this summit.”
At the summit’s closing news conference in Ottawa on Thursday, Rodriguez did not announce any new penalties, saying he wanted to first work with the industry to see if they could improve the situation for travellers.
“We don’t want to end up in a situation where we have to issue fines, but if we have to, that’s definitely an option,” he said.
Kamal Khera, Minister for Diversity, Inclusion and Persons with Disabilities, said the plan to introduce a common medical admission form for travellers would “streamline the travel preparation process and make travel easier for people with disabilities”.
He said the travel industry has committed to exploring ways to collect and share data with the federal government and regulators to improve the experience for travelers.
Earlier Thursday, Rodriguez and Kera hosted the first of two panel discussions, which included representatives from CNIB, the Canadian Autism League, Procne Navigation, the Canadian Spinal Cord Injury Association, Wavefront Centre for Communication Accessibility and Vancouver International Airport.
Supporters call for consistency and a shift in attitude
Joanne Smith of the Canadian Spinal Cord Injury Association told CBC News after the morning session that it was important for them to attend the summit because they’ve seen a significant decline in “accessibility services and safety when traveling for people with mobility impairments.”
“This is degrading and it’s degrading. We should be able to travel for work and pleasure and not have to be treated like this,” she told CBC News.
Smith said he has been fired by airline staff and has dealt with staff who were improperly trained.
“The basics are that we need more education, training and communication,” she said, “but the flip side of that, even more importantly, we need to change attitudes. There seems to be a fear and a lack of awareness about working with the disability community.”
Joanne Smith of the Canadian Spinal Cord Injury Association says airline staff don’t receive proper training on how to help her into her seat, which often leads to her hitting her head on the overhead bins. (CBC/Ashley Burke)
Mayan Ziv, founder and CEO of AccessNow and a disability activist, told CBC News she would like to see improved data sharing and a commitment to a modern approach to travellers with disabilities.
“It was really wonderful to see both ministers demonstrate sincerity and recognize the very real barriers that people with disabilities face in Canada. They didn’t sugar coat it,” she said.
Ziv said the inconsistency of services for passengers with disabilities was a constant topic during the sessions.
“Sometimes the flight goes smoothly, but at other times I face great anxiety as my needs are ignored,” she said.
The NDP says better data, regulation and enforcement are needed.
New Democratic Party MP for transportation Taylor Bachrach told CBC News Thursday morning that he expects a commitment from the minister to do what’s necessary to make Canada’s aviation sector more accessible after the summit.
“We have heard from disability rights activists about the barriers they face. What is needed now is political will from the minister,” he said.
The accessibility inquiry was sparked by a motion by Baqrakha in the House of Representatives transport committee, and he says ensuring people with disabilities can move around with dignity is a human rights issue.
“We need better data, better regulation and proper enforcement,” he said.
CBC Marketplace investigated the lack of accessible transportation last fall, and following that and other CBC News reports, MPs called airline CEOs before a House of Commons committee to explain why they had let some passengers down and how they planned to improve the situation.
‘We make mistakes’: Air Canada CEO tells committee
The House of Representatives Transportation Committee has held four meetings on the issue and is expected to deliver a draft report in the coming months.
WestJet CEO Alexis von Hornsbroek apologized for the incident in February and said he wanted to make travel easier.
“We sincerely apologize to any customers who did not have a good travel experience with us. [to] “The situation is improving,” von Hohensbroek said in a speech to the transport committee.
Air Canada CEO Michael Rousseau also faced tough questioning at the committee about reports of passenger mistreatment over the past year.
“We sometimes make mistakes,” Rousseau told the committee, pointing to a rapid accessibility plan announced in November and new measures to improve the travel experience for passengers with disabilities.
‘Airlines…have to do more’: Chief Accessibility Officer
The parliamentary hearing came after several CBC News reports about cases of abuse.
In one case, Stephanie Cadieux, the federal government’s chief accessibility officer, flew from Toronto to Vancouver on an Air Canada flight in October and discovered her wheelchair had been left behind.
Although Cadieux was able to get his wheelchair back to him safely the next morning, he said airlines put travelers at risk by not providing proper care and attention to essential equipment like a wheelchair.
“I want people to understand that when a person loses their wheelchair, they lose their independence, their safety, their mobility and their dignity,” she said.
“Airlines must take responsibility and improve.”
Video: Man dragged off Air Canada plane vows to keep fighting 
Man dragged off Air Canada flight vows to continue fighting for people with disabilities
Air Canada apologized after a staff member told the B.C. man he needed to get to the front of the plane unassisted. The airline also admitted to violating Canada’s People with Disabilities Act. Rodney Hodgins hopes the situation will lead to systemic change.
Rodney and Deanna Hodgins flew from Vancouver to Las Vegas in late August to celebrate their one-year wedding anniversary. Rodney has spastic cerebral palsy and uses a power wheelchair.
He was reportedly forced to deplane on his own in Las Vegas after Air Canada failed to provide him with the assistance he needed to safely remove him from the plane, an experience Deanna called “inhumane.”
“You see this guy grabbing onto the back of the chair and struggling. I drop to the ground and I’m crawling along the ground, trying to get his legs to the front of the plane. I’m fighting his spasms, trying to lift his legs,” she said.
Ryan LaChance, a stand-up comedian from White Rock who has quadriplegic cerebral palsy and uses a power wheelchair, said he was injured in May 2023 when he was dropped from an Air Canada flight while trying to disembark because the airline’s crew didn’t bring the necessary equipment.
“They had a lot of trouble getting me out of the seat. I travel with a sling under me so that other people can pick me up. They kept pulling on it so my body was in pain and I had bad bruising on my back and hips,” he said.
Lachance’s care assistant, Emma Proulx, was travelling with him at the time and said it was “harrowing to watch and a difficult experience for Ryan”.
The second panel included representatives from airlines and airports, including the Canadian Airlines Association, Canadian Airports Association, Northern Air Transport Association, Air Canada, WestJet, the Canadian Union of Public Employees, the Canadian Labour Congress, UNIFOR and the Canadian Air Transport Security Agency.