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Airport delays: Canadians share travel horror stories – CTV News
After years apart, Elizabeth Taliana says she booked a flight for her daughter to fly out from Toronto to Vancouver.
Her daughter only gets one week of vacation from work during the summer.
Even though she made the reservation more than two months ago, Taliana says she only learned recently that her daughter’s flight had been cancelled, a trend Canadians are becoming all too familiar with.
“I have not seen my daughter in almost six years, so this is very distressing,” Taliana told CTVNews.ca in an email.
Her story is similar to many shared with CTVNews.ca in recent days as cancelled flights, delays and lost luggage throw a wrench in Canadians’ summer travel plans, due in part to staffing shortages at Canadian airports.
Some report sleeping at airports due to cancellations and delays. One person, flying from Newfoundland to Vancouver Island, said it took two cancelled flights and an extra day to get home, while his luggage — filled with 70 frozen lobsters — took two days to arrive.
The responses were emailed to CTVNews.ca and have not all been independently verified.
Samantha Van Noy says she lost three pieces of luggage that, at the time she wrote to CTVNews.ca, hadn’t arrived in more than eight days.
Flying to Chicago for a tradeshow, Van Noy says her booth materials were in her luggage and the amount of money lost due to her airline’s “incompetence is incalculable.”
“I tell everyone don’t fly unless you absolutely need to right now,” she said.
Kimberly Horton, a Canadian living in Austin, Texas, said she bought three tickets in February for herself, her husband and their son to fly to Toronto to visit her family, whom she hasn’t seen in three years due to COVID-19.
“What was supposed to be a joyous celebration turned into heartbreak and disappointment,” Horton said.
She says the airline placed her husband on standby because the flight was overbooked.
After calling customer service twice, and being on hold for an hour and 40 minutes, she says she was told there was nothing that could be done.
“My husband was denied boarding and my son was crying as we left,” she said.
After being asked to check her carry-on luggage due to a lack of overhead compartment space, Horton says her bag never showed up.
“It had all of my valuables, medications, contact lenses, my son’s retainers, my Invisalign, etc. Things you need and can’t replace on vacation,” she said.
She got her bag three days later. Meanwhile, her husband was able to get on another flight, only to have it evacuated due to a fuel spill.
“That was the final breaking point for my husband. He was exhausted of everything and asked for his luggage back. They returned his bags reeking of jet fuel and he headed home cancelling his vacation with us,” Horton said.
‘PEARSON AIRPORT BRINGS THE WORST OUT OF PEOPLE NOW’
Oksana Klausmann had booked a trip from Toronto to New York City for late June and says after a lengthy check-in process, she and her daughter went through customs only to discover that they were not on the flight manifest, despite having their boarding passes.
From there, she says they were taken to a small room packed with other families, children, and seniors, among others.
She described the room as not having enough seats for everyone, forcing some to sit on the floor, and one small washroom with no soap, toilet paper or paper towels. Klausmann says there were no cups for the water fountain.
Several hours later, they received an email saying their flight was cancelled. An agent then arrived with a pair of police officers confirming the situation.
“What happened next should never happen to my daughter and me. Riot, angry people, screaming, yelling, pushing, and a lot more,” she said. “It was unsafe, scary, violent, and hostile. I took my daughter and we tried to leave the room filled with more than 200 or 300 angry people.”
Having already booked a hotel and shows in New York, Klausmann says cancelling the trip wasn’t an option.
They found a flight with another airline that cost nearly as much as the entire trip. They went through another lengthy check-in process, but eventually made it to New York.
Once back at Toronto Pearson, following a long delay on their return flight, Klausmann says only 15 passengers were allowed to leave the plane at a time due to congestion at customs.
“Believe me that people were not happy about it and some of them started to come forcefully from the back of the plane to be on the front to get off the plane,” Klausmann said.
Frustrations only continued as people started waiting for their luggage.
“Pearson Airport brings the worst out of people now, not everyone can stay calm in these circumstances and they put other people at great risk,” she said.
“We, two Canadians, a daughter and a mom, going on a trip to have fun and enjoy time together, should never have such an experience. We paid for someone’s mistakes and inability to provide service with our own money that could be used for different purposes.”
People sleep on a bench as they wait at Pierre Elliott Trudeau airport, in Montreal, June 29, 2022. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Ryan Remiorz
‘DEFEATED AND DISCOURAGED’
Lori Veltkamp had planned a three-week trip to Greece with her two daughters. She bought her tickets in January and was scheduled to fly direct from Toronto to Athens in late June.
In anticipation of a busy scene at Pearson, she says she and her daughters arrived more than five hours before their departure time, but were placed on standby and told to wait for their seat assignments at the gate.
Veltkamp says the flight encountered further delays due to the plane’s meals arriving late.
Later, she said she was “devastated” to learn that they would not get on the plane because they booked their flights through a third party and “were basically put at the bottom of the list to get off of standby.”
“They rushed us off to a gate that was boarding heading to Venice, but it would have an eight-hour layover in Venice before we would fly to Athens,” she said.
They managed to catch the flight with the layover in Venice. But five days into their trip, Veltkamp says they still haven’t received their three suitcases.
“We are three people with basically no clothes and have had to purchase new things. We are hopeful that we will receive our luggage soon but are feeling very defeated and discouraged by this entire experience,” she said.
CANCELLED FLIGHTS AND CALLS FOR CHANGE
After his flight from Prince George, B.C., to Toronto for July was cancelled, Harmolk Brar said he was given an option of cancelling the flight online for a refund.
Opting for this, he says the airline wanted to charge him $150 plus tax in penalties.
“A cancellation penalty for flights that they have already cancelled,” he said. “This is the most preposterous thing I’ve heard of.”
Jamie Boulter and her husband had plans to fly from Moncton, N.B., to Hamilton, Ont., in July for a few days.
She received an email saying their flight had been cancelled and that they would receive a follow-up explaining how to get a refund or rebook, potentially flying to Toronto through the airline’s sister company instead, which she says would have created more problems since they booked a rental car in Hamilton.
Boulter said her only options were to rebook with the same airline for July 4, the day she was supposed to fly back to New Brunswick, or cancel.
She chose to cancel and was told her refund would be less than half of what she originally paid. Boulter said she has tried unsuccessfully to reach someone from the airline by phone, an online contact form and social media.
“I had paid for three nights at a hotel and it was non-refundable by the point I learned my flight was cancelled. I also paid for concert tickets to two shows, which were non-refundable,” she said.
“The concert was a two-night performance of my favourite band, playing their first album in its entirety on the 20th anniversary of that album, in their hometown. This experience was going to be huge for me. I’m so soured by this experience.”
While Pearson has seen some of the worst travel experiences so far this year, Richard Vanderlubbe, an Association of Canadian Travel Agencies director and president of tripcentral.ca, says delays at larger airports can cascade to smaller ones.
“It’s one of those things that’s like a tightly tuned drumhead. There’s not much slack in the system,” he told CTV News Channel on Saturday.
“If you have a pilot or a crew that calls in sick, and people are still getting sick, the airline has to scramble to find a qualified pilot for that aircraft. And by the time they get a hold of somebody, it is a matter of changing the pilots on different routes in order to make this happen and to have less impact on the connections.”
Ultimately, he says it isn’t much fun for the airlines either, who have to bear the cost of delivering lost luggage by courier to people’s homes.
In response to “customer service shortfalls,” Air Canada last month announced it would reduce flights in July and August.
A spokesperson for the company said it would reduce its schedule by 154 flights per day on average for those two months, with the most affected routes expected to be to and from Toronto and Montreal.
Prior to that, Air Canada operated approximately 1,000 flights per day.
Vanderlubbe said while reasonable, the Air Canada reductions will affect people’s future travel plans, with fares possibly going up as a result.
“I’m hopeful that as that unfolds, we’re going to see less of this and by the time we hit further into the summer and perhaps Labour Day, it’s hopefully gone,” he said.
With files from CTV News
News
Ontario Legislature keffiyeh ban remains, though Ford and opposition leaders ask for reversal – CBC.ca
Keffiyehs remain banned in the Ontario Legislature after a unanimous consent motion that would have allowed the scarf to be worn failed to pass at Queen’s Park Thursday.
That vote, brought forth by NDP Leader Marit Stiles, failed despite Premier Doug Ford and the leaders of the province’s opposition parties all stating they want to see the ban overturned. Complete agreement from all MPPs is required for a motion like this to pass, and there were a smattering of “nos” after it was read into the record.
In an email on Wednesday, Speaker Ted Arnott said the legislature has previously restricted the wearing of clothing that is intended to make an “overt political statement” because it upholds a “standard practice of decorum.”
“The Speaker cannot be aware of the meaning of every symbol or pattern but when items are drawn to my attention, there is a responsibility to respond. After extensive research, I concluded that the wearing of keffiyehs at the present time in our Assembly is intended to be a political statement. So, as Speaker, I cannot authorize the wearing of keffiyehs based on our longstanding conventions,” Arnott said in an email.
Speaking at Queen’s Park Thursday, Arnott said he would reconsider the ban with unanimous consent from MPPs.
“If the house believes that the wearing of the keffiyeh in this house, at the present time, is not a political statement, I would certainly and unequivocally accept the express will of the house with no ifs, ands or buts,” he said.
Keffiyehs are a commonly worn scarf among Arabs, but hold special significance to Palestinian people. They have been a frequent sight among pro-Palestinian protesters calling for an end to the violence in Gaza as the Israel-Hamas� war continues.
Premier calls for reversal
Ford said Thursday he’s hopeful Arnott will reverse the ban, but he didn’t say if he would instruct his caucus to support the NDP’s motion.
In a statement issued Wednesday, Ford said the decision was made by the speaker and nobody else.
“I do not support his decision as it needlessly divides the people of our province. I call on the speaker to reverse his decision immediately,” Ford said.
Ontario Premier Doug Ford reiterated Thursday that he does not support Speaker Ted Arnott banning keffiyehs in the Ontario Legislature because they are “intended to be a political statement,” as Arnott said in an email Wednesday.
PC Party MPP Robin Martin, who represents Eglinton–Lawrence, voted against the unanimous consent motion Thursday and told reporters she believes the speaker’s initial ruling was the correct one.
“We have to follow the rules of the legislature, otherwise we politicize the entire debate inside the legislature, and that’s not what it’s about. What it’s about is we come there and use our words to persuade, not items of clothing.”
When asked if she had defied a directive from the premier, Martin said, “It has nothing to do with the premier, it’s a decision of the speaker of the legislative assembly.”
Stiles told reporters Thursday she’s happy Ford is on her side on this issue, but added she is disappointed the motion didn’t pass.
“The premier needs to talk to his people and make sure they do the right thing,” she said.
Stiles first urged Arnott to reconsider the ban in an April 12 letter. She said concerns over the directive first surfaced after being flagged by members of her staff, however they have gained prominence after Sarah Jama, Independent MPP for Hamilton Centre, posted about the issue on X, formerly Twitter.
Jama was removed from the NDP caucus for her social media comments on the Israel-Hamas war shortly after Oct. 7.
Jama has said she believes she was kicked out of the party because she called for a ceasefire in Gaza “too early” and because she called Israel an “apartheid state.”
Arnott told reporters Thursday that he began examining a ban on the Keffiyeh after one MPP made a complaint about another MPP, who he believes was Jama, who was wearing one.
Liberals also call for reversal
Ontario Liberal Leader Bonnie Crombie also called for a reversal of the ban on Wednesday night.
“Here in Ontario, we are home to a diverse group of people from so many backgrounds. This is a time when leaders should be looking for ways to bring people together, not to further divide us. I urge Speaker Arnott to immediately reconsider this move to ban the keffiyeh,” Crombie said.
Keffiyehs are a common garment across the Arab world, but they hold a special meaning in the Palestinian resistance movement.
Stiles said MPPs have worn kilts, kirpans, vyshyvankas and chubas in the legislature, saying such items of clothing not only have national and cultural associations, but have also been considered at times as “political symbols in need of suppression.”
She said Indigenous and non-Indigenous members have also dressed in traditional regalia and these items cannot be separated from their historical and political significance.
“The wearing of these important cultural and national clothing items in our Assembly is something we should be proud of. It is part of the story of who we are as a province,” she said.
“Palestinians are part of that story, and the keffiyeh is a traditional clothing item that is significant not only to them but to many members of Arab and Muslim communities. That includes members of my staff who have been asked to remove their keffiyehs in order to come to work. This is unacceptable.”
Stiles added that House of Commons and other provincial legislatures allow the wearing of keffiyehs in their chambers and the ban makes Ontario an “outlier.”
Suppression of cultural symbols part of genocide: MPP
Jama said on X that the ban is “unsurprising” but “nonetheless concerning” in a country that has a legacy of colonialism. “Part of committing genocide is the forceful suppression of cultural identity and cultural symbols,” she said in part.
“Seeing those in power in this country at all levels of government, from federal all the way down to school boards, aid Israel’s colonial regime with these tactics in the oppression of Palestinian people proves that reconciliation is nothing but a word when spoken by state powers,” she said.
Amira Elghawaby, Canada’s Special Representative on Combatting Islamophobia, said on X that it is “deeply ironic” on that keffiyehs were banned in the Ontario legislature on the 42nd anniversary of Canada’s Charter of Rights and Freedoms.
“This is wrong and dangerous as we have already seen violence and exclusion impact Canadians, including Muslims of Palestinian descent, who choose to wear this traditional Palestinian clothing,” Elghawaby said.
Arnott said the keffiyeh was not considered a “form of protest” in the legislature prior to statements and debates that happened in the House last fall.
“These items are not absolutes and are not judged in a vacuum,” he said.
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Best in Canada: Jets Beat Canucks to Finish Season as Top Canadian Club The Hockey News
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Health Canada will change its longstanding policy restricting gay and bisexual men from donating to sperm banks in Canada, CTV News has learned.
The federal health agency has adopted a revised directive removing the ban on gay, bisexual and other men who have sex with men, effective May 8.
The policy change would remove the current donor screening criteria, allowing men who have sex with men to legally donate sperm for the first time in more than 30 years, as part of the anonymous donation process.
This update comes after CTV News first reported last year that a gay man was taking the federal government to court, challenging the constitutionality of the policy on the basis that it violates the right to equality in the Charter of Rights and Freedoms.
According to an email Health Canada sent stakeholders informing them of the upcoming amendments to the federal directive, “sperm donors will instead be asked gender-neutral, sexual behaviour-based donor screening questions,” more in-line with the 2022 change made by Canadian Blood Services to its donation policy.
However, instead of entirely eradicating restrictions for gay and bisexual men, lawyer Gregory Ko – whose client, Aziz M., brought the case – cautioned that Health Canada will continue to bar donations from those who have had new or multiple partners in the last three months, based on rules regarding anal sex. CTV News has agreed to protect the full identity of Aziz M. out of concerns for his privacy.
Ko said while the update is an important milestone, his client intends to maintain his challenge against the Health Canada directive, “and the continued discrimination contained in this latest revision.”
“Based on our understanding of the science, there is no scientific justification for screening criteria that continues to discriminate on the basis of sexual activity and sexual orientation, since the testing and quarantine protocols already in place allow sperm banks to detect relevant infections and exclude such donations,” Ko said.
Currently, a Health Canada directive prohibits gay and bisexual men from donating sperm to a sperm bank for general use, unless they’ve been abstinent for three months or are donating to someone they know.
For example, it stops any gay man who is sexually active from donating, even if they are in a long-term monogamous relationship.
Under the “Safety of Sperm and Ova Regulation,” sperm banks operating in Canada must deem these prospective donors “unsuitable,” despite all donations being subject to screening, testing and a six-month quarantine before they can be used.
While the directive does not mention transgender or non-binary donors, the policy also applies to individuals who may not identify as male but would be categorized as men under the directive.
It’s a blanket policy that the Toronto man bringing the lawsuit said made him feel like a “second-class citizen,” and goes to the heart of the many barriers that exist for LGBTQ2S+ Canadians looking to have children.
When CTV News first reported on the lawsuit, Health Canada and various federal ministers said they would be “exploring” a policy change, citing the progress made on blood donation rules.
The update comes following “the consultations held in August 2023 and January 2024,” according to Health Canada.
This is a breaking news story, more to come…
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