Internal government records obtained by Go Public reveal that Transport Canada officials and successive transport ministers may have attempted to delay and undermine an initiative to make airlines contribute to funding Canada’s air passenger complaints system.
The documents indicate that Transport Canada, under two different transport ministers, interfered with the Canadian Transportation Agency (CTA), which was instructed by Parliament in 2023 to implement a cost-recovery fee on airlines. However, more than two and a half years later, the fee has not been established.
As a result, taxpayers are still footing about $30 million annually to handle air passenger complaints, leading to a backlog of over 88,000 individuals seeking compensation.
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Passengers who are denied compensation for issues like flight delays or lost luggage can file complaints with the CTA. Due to the overwhelming volume of complaints, Parliament directed the agency to charge airlines a fee for cases involving eligible claims.
To investigate the delay in implementing the fee, Go Public submitted an Access to Information request to the CTA, covering the period from Aug. 1, 2024, to May 20, 2025.
The obtained 2,000+ pages of records include correspondences between the CTA and various transport ministers, internal discussions on addressing government concerns about the proposed fee, and input from a public consultation process.
The records were examined by Gábor Lukács, founder of Air Passenger Rights, who criticized the ministerial interference with the CTA’s independent work.
Lukács stated, “What I am seeing here is strong evidence of ministerial interference with the CTA’s work, which is supposed to be independent.”
The CTA, the transport minister, and Transport Canada declined interviews. Transport Canada provided a general statement without addressing Go Public’s specific inquiries. Former transport ministers during the directive to implement the fee did not respond to questions.
CTA’s Fee Proposal and Opposition
Following Parliament’s directive in 2023, the CTA proposed a charge of $790 for each eligible passenger complaint.
In fall 2024, the CTA conducted public consultations, receiving 83 written submissions. While consumer groups and the public largely supported the fee, airlines and industry representatives opposed it, claiming it would encourage frivolous claims.
Anita Anand’s Request for Delay
Despite heavy redactions, internal records include a letter from then-transport minister Anita Anand to the CTA chair in October 2024.
Anand criticized the CTA for proceeding with public consultation, emphasizing that Transport Canada officials had urged the CTA to delay the process. Ministry officials also expressed concerns about the fee amount and its potential impact.
Anand questioned the CTA’s diligence in justifying the $790 fee and