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Liberalization of Foreign Ownership Rules
Amendments to the Canada Transportation Act have provided the governor in council, effectively the federal Cabinet, with the flexibility to increase the foreign ownership limit on Canadian carriers from the existing level of 25% to a maximum level of 49%. It is suggested that the impetus for these amendments was specific recommendations made by the Competition Policy Review Panel in connection with the air transport sector.
Air Passenger Rights Legislation Proposed
The protection of consumers and air passenger rights continue to be hotly debated in Canada. This update provides a summary of proposed federal legislation, which is contained in Bill C-310 - An Act to Provide Certain Rights to Air Passengers. If passed, the law would apply to air carriers that operate a domestic service or an international service, including international charters.
Air Passenger Rights: The Canadian Approach
A motion calling for a bill of rights modelled on the EU Air Passenger Bill of Rights recently received unanimous support in the House of Commons. Advocates for the Canadian Air Passenger Bill of Rights contend that legislation and regulations should be implemented to enhance consumer protection and force air carriers to compensate passengers when the services that they provide are not up to standard.
'One Person, One Fare' Policy
Disability discrimination legislation specifically applying to the air transport sector has been introduced in many countries. Canada’s legislation was recently tested and resulted in a landmark decision that requires certain Canadian air carriers to adopt a ‘one person, one fare’ policy for persons with a disability.
Recent amendments have been made to Canada’s insolvency laws to deal with the insolvency-related remedies provided for in the Cape Town Convention and the Aircraft Protocol. This update identifies certain technical issues with these amendments and considers how the recent legislation amending Canada’s insolvency laws attempts to address some of these issues.
On the first anniversary of Canada’s Blue Sky policy, the federal government announced the first round of negotiations for an Open Skies-type air transport agreement between Canada and the European Union. A comprehensive Open Skies-type agreement with the European Union is essential if there is to be a levelling of the competitive playing field in transatlantic air services.
