Nearly two years after launching an inquiry into thousands of complaints from airline passengers claiming they were wrongly denied compensation for delayed flights, the Canadian Transportation Agency (CTA) has issued a decision.
However, affected passengers must still wait for a resolution.
That’s because instead of attempting to resolve the complaints, the CTA has directed airlines to reconsider the passengers’ request for compensation based on new guidance the agency has provided.
The disputes stem from the federal Air Passenger Protection Regulations (APPR) launched in 2019. The regulations mandate that passengers receive up to $1,000 in compensation for flights that are delayed or cancelled for reasons within an airline’s control, such as routine maintenance issues or overbooking.
Soon after the regulations fully took effect on Dec. 15 of that year, the CTA was flooded with more than 3,000 passenger complaints, claiming the reasons the airlines had provided for denying them compensation were either inadequate or unfounded.
On Feb. 13, 2020, the CTA launched an inquiry that focused on 567 of the complaints, involving all of Canada’s major airlines: Air Canada, WestJet, Air Transat, Sunwing and Swoop.
As a result of that inquiry, the CTA has now issued airlines guidance on what situations are considered within an airline’s control, involving matters such as crew shortages, computer outages and maintenance.
The CTA said passengers whose cases remain unresolved despite the new guidance can contact the agency by Feb. 15, 2022, for help in reaching a resolution.
‘It’s disheartening’
Complainant Michael Kerr is dissatisfied with the results of the inquiry. He filed a complaint with the CTA in February 2020 after Air Canada rejected his compensation claim following an eight-hour delay on a Halifax-to-Toronto flight.
He has yet to get a resolution.
“It’s disheartening,” said Kerr, who is from Toronto but currently living in Fargo, N.D. “It’d be nice to have some closure with it, as opposed to [the CTA] pushing it off essentially.”
Michael Kerr filed a complaint with the Canadian Transportation Agency after Air Canada denied him compensation for a delayed flight on Feb. 2, 2020. (Submitted by Michael Kerr)
Passenger rights expert Ian Jack agrees. He said he’s happy that the CTA has provided more clarity on what types of flight delays warrant compensation, however, he’s concerned over the continued delay in providing complainants with a resolution.
“People will be waiting a very long time for a decision and it’s still not resolved — and that’s very disappointing,” said Jack, a spokesperson with Canadian Automobile Association (CAA), a non-profit that serves Canadian travellers.
“At a certain point, justice delayed is justice denied.”
The CTA told CBC News in an email the inquiry was temporarily suspended during the pandemic. The agency also said the inquiry was a “complex and large-scale process” that included taking into consideration feedback from involved parties, including the airlines.
However, airlines don’t have to pay compensation for flights that are delayed or cancelled due to uncontrollable factors, such as bad weather or mechanical problems discovered outside of routine maintenance checks.
Before the new rules took effect, some industry experts expressed concern that airlines might try to fudge the cause of a flight delay to avoid paying compensation.
In its inquiry decision, the CTA said it found no evidence the airlines “intentionally misled passengers” when denying them compensation. However, the agency said much of the information provided to passengers about the reasons for their flight delays “was inadequate, terse and unclear.”
WATCH | Inquiry launched into Air Passenger Rights Regulations:
Inquiry launched into handling of air passenger rights regulations
2 years ago
The Canadian Transportation Agency has launched an inquiry into how airlines handle new passenger rights regulations after it was flooded with complaints from consumers. 2:05
Kerr said he felt entitled to compensation because during his flight delay, Air Canada crew promised passengers compensation and even passed out compensation-information pamphlets.
But the airline later rejected Kerr’s claim, stating in an email that the plane was delayed due to a “safety-related issue.”
If Air Canada still refuses to offer him compensation following the CTA inquiry, Kerr said he plans to give up and not pursue his claim further.
“After waiting over a year and a half, I’m just kind of tired of dealing with it,” he said.
TOKYO (AP) — Japanese technology group SoftBank swung back to profitability in the July-September quarter, boosted by positive results in its Vision Fund investments.
Tokyo-based SoftBank Group Corp. reported Tuesday a fiscal second quarter profit of nearly 1.18 trillion yen ($7.7 billion), compared with a 931 billion yen loss in the year-earlier period.
Quarterly sales edged up about 6% to nearly 1.77 trillion yen ($11.5 billion).
SoftBank credited income from royalties and licensing related to its holdings in Arm, a computer chip-designing company, whose business spans smartphones, data centers, networking equipment, automotive, consumer electronic devices, and AI applications.
The results were also helped by the absence of losses related to SoftBank’s investment in office-space sharing venture WeWork, which hit the previous fiscal year.
WeWork, which filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in 2023, emerged from Chapter 11 in June.
SoftBank has benefitted in recent months from rising share prices in some investment, such as U.S.-based e-commerce company Coupang, Chinese mobility provider DiDi Global and Bytedance, the Chinese developer of TikTok.
SoftBank’s financial results tend to swing wildly, partly because of its sprawling investment portfolio that includes search engine Yahoo, Chinese retailer Alibaba, and artificial intelligence company Nvidia.
SoftBank makes investments in a variety of companies that it groups together in a series of Vision Funds.
The company’s founder, Masayoshi Son, is a pioneer in technology investment in Japan. SoftBank Group does not give earnings forecasts.
Shopify Inc. executives brushed off concerns that incoming U.S. President Donald Trump will be a major detriment to many of the company’s merchants.
“There’s nothing in what we’ve heard from Trump, nor would there have been anything from (Democratic candidate) Kamala (Harris), which we think impacts the overall state of new business formation and entrepreneurship,” Shopify’s chief financial officer Jeff Hoffmeister told analysts on a call Tuesday.
“We still feel really good about all the merchants out there, all the entrepreneurs that want to start new businesses and that’s obviously not going to change with the administration.”
Hoffmeister’s comments come a week after Trump, a Republican businessman, trounced Harris in an election that will soon return him to the Oval Office.
On the campaign trail, he threatened to impose tariffs of 60 per cent on imports from China and roughly 10 per cent to 20 per cent on goods from all other countries.
If the president-elect makes good on the promise, many worry the cost of operating will soar for companies, including customers of Shopify, which sells e-commerce software to small businesses but also brands as big as Kylie Cosmetics and Victoria’s Secret.
These merchants may feel they have no choice but to pass on the increases to customers, perhaps sparking more inflation.
If Trump’s tariffs do come to fruition, Shopify’s president Harley Finkelstein pointed out China is “not a huge area” for Shopify.
However, “we can’t anticipate what every presidential administration is going to do,” he cautioned.
He likened the uncertainty facing the business community to the COVID-19 pandemic where Shopify had to help companies migrate online.
“Our job is no matter what comes the way of our merchants, we provide them with tools and service and support for them to navigate it really well,” he said.
Finkelstein was questioned about the forthcoming U.S. leadership change on a call meant to delve into Shopify’s latest earnings, which sent shares soaring 27 per cent to $158.63 shortly after Tuesday’s market open.
The Ottawa-based company, which keeps its books in U.S. dollars, reported US$828 million in net income for its third quarter, up from US$718 million in the same quarter last year, as its revenue rose 26 per cent.
Revenue for the period ended Sept. 30 totalled US$2.16 billion, up from US$1.71 billion a year earlier.
Subscription solutions revenue reached US$610 million, up from US$486 million in the same quarter last year.
Merchant solutions revenue amounted to US$1.55 billion, up from US$1.23 billion.
Shopify’s net income excluding the impact of equity investments totalled US$344 million for the quarter, up from US$173 million in the same quarter last year.
Daniel Chan, a TD Cowen analyst, said the results show Shopify has a leadership position in the e-commerce world and “a continued ability to gain market share.”
In its outlook for its fourth quarter of 2024, the company said it expects revenue to grow at a mid-to-high-twenties percentage rate on a year-over-year basis.
“Q4 guidance suggests Shopify will finish the year strong, with better-than-expected revenue growth and operating margin,” Chan pointed out in a note to investors.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 12, 2024.
TORONTO – RioCan Real Estate Investment Trust says it has cut almost 10 per cent of its staff as it deals with a slowdown in the condo market and overall pushes for greater efficiency.
The company says the cuts, which amount to around 60 employees based on its last annual filing, will mean about $9 million in restructuring charges and should translate to about $8 million in annualized cash savings.
The job cuts come as RioCan and others scale back condo development plans as the market softens, but chief executive Jonathan Gitlin says the reductions were from a companywide efficiency effort.
RioCan says it doesn’t plan to start any new construction of mixed-use properties this year and well into 2025 as it adjusts to the shifting market demand.
The company reported a net income of $96.9 million in the third quarter, up from a loss of $73.5 million last year, as it saw a $159 million boost from a favourable change in the fair value of investment properties.
RioCan reported what it says is a record-breaking 97.8 per cent occupancy rate in the quarter including retail committed occupancy of 98.6 per cent.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 12, 2024.
