Beijing and Ottawa are in talks aimed at increasing flights between China and Canada, following American deals and the lifting of COVID-19 restrictions, but diplomatic spats and the aviation sector’s gradual pace of change could prolong the turbulence.
“It’s a political problem; I don’t think it’s a one-day solution or that we’ll have the green light right away,” said Glynnis Chan, a longtime Vancouver travel agent.
She says economy-class flights to China are costing her clients three times the price they paid in 2019. “They’re very frustrated,” she said.
Transport Canada says the weekly number of flights between the two countries has dropped drastically, from more than 100 per week in the summer of 2019 to just 10 per week this season.
The existing Canada-China air transport agreement allows each country 76 passenger flights per week, for distribution among their respective airlines.
At the peak of the summer 2019 travel period, Transport Canada said Chinese airlines operated 76 flights to Canada per week from various cities, while Air Canada operated 35 flights per week to Beijing and Shanghai combined as the sole Canadian carrier flying to the country at that time.
But now, Air Canada operates just four flights a week to Shanghai, while Chinese airlines fly six weekly passenger flights to Canada.
The decline stems from China’s strict COVID-19 rules, which up until January included caps on foreign flights and frequent quarantines and testing for visitors.
Helane Becker, an airline analyst for investment firm Cowen, says those “very onerous” rules made global airlines break up their flights, making stops in places like South Korea, Hong Kong or the Philippines to rotate crews. That way, staff could stay on the plane without entering the terminal.
“A lot of the airlines made the decision that they couldn’t have their crews trapped in China for 14 days,” she said. Now, with the restrictions lifted, there is still no direct flight between China and Canada.
Meanwhile, Russia has retaliated against western sanctions by banning commercial airlines from countries such as Canada and the U.S. from using its airspace. That has forced Canadian airlines to avoid the North Pole, instead taking a longer, costlier arc over Alaska and Japan.
In May and June, Washington allowed Chinese airlines more flights to the U.S., reportedly in exchange for those routes avoiding Russian airspace. Becker said this prevents Chinese airlines from undercutting American competitors through faster, cheaper flights.
Air Canada CEO Michael Rousseau highlighted the issue during an Aug. 14 earnings call.
“It’s difficult to have flights from Eastern Canada — Toronto and Montreal, primarily — to China without using a Russia overflight,” he said. “We’d like to see that market come back. It was a strong market for us pre-pandemic.”
The airline hopes to restore daily flights to Shanghai and to Beijing — both from Vancouver — in the “medium term,” Air Canada’s head of revenue and network planning, Mark Galardo, said on the call.
But beyond the logistics, Beijing and Ottawa have ramped-up rhetoric, particularly after months of reported allegations of Chinese meddling in Canadian elections.
In May, the Liberals expelled a Chinese diplomat over an alleged plot to intimidate a Conservative MP, and the Trudeau government has been accused of turning a blind eye to foreign interference.
China’s government rejects those claims, as well as reporting by Canadian journalists and Ottawa’s corporate ethics czar about alleged forced labour among China’s Uyghur minority.
This month, China lifted a pandemic ban on group tours to numerous countries but kept its tourists effectively barred from group visits to Canada.
China’s embassy in Ottawa said the move was due to the Trudeau government having “hyped up” the issue of foreign interference, and said an uptick in anti-Asian discrimination put Chinese citizens in Canada at risk.
Chan says her sector needs the added demand of tour groups to convince airlines to offer more flights. For now, there’s a scramble for the few available flights from Vancouver to China, which used to cost just over $1,000 for an economy round-trip ticket and now often cost more than double that.
“In peak seasons the airline ticket can jump to $4,000 or $6,000 or something like that. It’s just crazy,” she said.
Chan, who launched her company Happy Times Travel four decades ago, said many of her competitors specializing in China risk going out of business.
“The most important issue is our two countries, how they (can) establish a good relationship, in order to get more flights back,” she said.
Chan said politicians have a right to express their views, but warned the rhetoric coming from government and opposition MPs in Ottawa puts Beijing on edge.
“It doesn’t bring a good harmony or peace of mind for the Chinese government to let their citizens visit Canada,” Chan said.
Both countries say they’re in talks to increase the number of flights, with Ottawa hinting it might seek a deal similar to the U.S. arrangements with China.
“The reopening of the Canada-China air transport market is being assessed, and Canadian officials are in discussions with Chinese counterparts on this issue,” wrote Transport Canada spokeswoman Sau Sau Liu.
“Canada’s objective is that air services are added to this market in a manner that will both meet passenger demand and offer an equitable and competitive operating environment for the air carriers of both countries.”
The Chinese embassy in Ottawa says it’s eager to get a deal signed.
“We hope that the Canadian side could work together with the Chinese side to facilitate the exchanges between our two peoples,” a spokesman wrote.
“The Canadian business community, a great number of Chinese companies in Canada, scholars and students from both countries have expressed that direct flights between China and Canada are insufficient, making air tickets expensive, which affects the normal people-to-people exchanges of our two countries.”
Becker said there was a lag in Canadian demand for flights to Europe, with a 2023 travel boom coming a year after the continent lifted COVID-19 restrictions. She suspects Asia’s delayed reopening will lead to more flights in 2024.
“The demand for it will certainly be there,” Becker said. “Business travellers especially, who haven’t seen their clients or their factories for three years, want to get back to business.”
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Aug. 25, 2023.
Quebec legislature member Youri Chassin has announced he’s leaving the Coalition Avenir Québec government to sit as an Independent.
He announced the decision shortly after writing an open letter criticizing Premier François Legault’s government for abandoning its principles of smaller government.
In the letter published in Le Journal de Montréal and Le Journal de Québec, Chassin accused the party of falling back on what he called the old formula of throwing money at problems instead of looking to do things differently.
Chassin says public services are more fragile than ever, despite rising spending that pushed the province to a record $11-billion deficit projected in the last budget.
He is the second CAQ member to leave the party in a little more than one week, after economy and energy minister Pierre Fitzgibbon announced Sept. 4 he would leave because he lost motivation to do his job.
Chassin says he has no intention of joining another party and will instead sit as an Independent until the end of his term.
He has represented the Saint-Jérôme riding since the CAQ rose to power in 2018, but has not served in cabinet.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 12, 2024.
MONTREAL – NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh says he will not be taking advice from Pierre Poilievre after the Conservative leader challenged him to bring down government.
“I say directly to Pierre Poilievre: I’m not going to listen to you,” said Singh on Wednesday, accusing Poilievre of wanting to take away dental-care coverage from Canadians, among other things.
“I’m not going to listen to your advice. You want to destroy people’s lives, I want to build up a brighter future.”
Earlier in the day, Poilievre challenged Singh to commit to voting non-confidence in the government, saying his party will force a vote in the House of Commons “at the earliest possibly opportunity.”
“I’m asking Jagmeet Singh and the NDP to commit unequivocally before Monday’s byelections: will they vote non-confidence to bring down the costly coalition and trigger a carbon tax election, or will Jagmeet Singh sell out Canadians again?” Poilievre said.
“It’s put up or shut up time for the NDP.”
While Singh rejected the idea he would ever listen to Poilievre, he did not say how the NDP would vote on a non-confidence motion.
“I’ve said on any vote, we’re going to look at the vote and we’ll make our decision. I’m not going to say our decision ahead of time,” he said.
Singh’s top adviser said on Tuesday the NDP leader is not particularly eager to trigger an election, even as the Conservatives challenge him to do just that.
Anne McGrath, Singh’s principal secretary, says there will be more volatility in Parliament and the odds of an early election have risen.
“I don’t think he is anxious to launch one, or chomping at the bit to have one, but it can happen,” she said in an interview.
New Democrat MPs are in a second day of meetings in Montreal as they nail down a plan for how to navigate the minority Parliament this fall.
The caucus retreat comes one week after Singh announced the party has left the supply-and-confidence agreement with the governing Liberals.
It’s also taking place in the very city where New Democrats are hoping to pick up a seat on Monday, when voters go to the polls in Montreal’s LaSalle—Émard—Verdun. A second byelection is being held that day in the Winnipeg riding of Elmwood—Transcona, where the NDP is hoping to hold onto a seat the Conservatives are also vying for.
While New Democrats are seeking to distance themselves from the Liberals, they don’t appear ready to trigger a general election.
Singh signalled on Tuesday that he will have more to say Wednesday about the party’s strategy for the upcoming sitting.
He is hoping to convince Canadians that his party can defeat the federal Conservatives, who have been riding high in the polls over the last year.
Singh has attacked Poilievre as someone who would bring back Harper-style cuts to programs that Canadians rely on, including the national dental-care program that was part of the supply-and-confidence agreement.
The Canadian Press has asked Poilievre’s office whether the Conservative leader intends to keep the program in place, if he forms government after the next election.
With the return of Parliament just days away, the NDP is also keeping in mind how other parties will look to capitalize on the new makeup of the House of Commons.
The Bloc Québécois has already indicated that it’s written up a list of demands for the Liberals in exchange for support on votes.
The next federal election must take place by October 2025 at the latest.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 11, 2024.
Montreal Mayor Valérie Plante is defending her decision to turn off comments on her social media accounts — with an announcement on social media.
She posted screenshots to X this morning of vulgar names she’s been called on the platform, and says comments on her posts for months have been dominated by insults, to the point that she decided to block them.
Montreal’s Opposition leader and the Canadian Civil Liberties Association have criticized Plante for limiting freedom of expression by restricting comments on her X and Instagram accounts.
They say elected officials who use social media should be willing to hear from constituents on those platforms.
However, Plante says some people may believe there is a fundamental right to call someone offensive names and to normalize violence online, but she disagrees.
Her statement on X is closed to comments.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 11, 2024.
