18 Nov Passenger rights through an airline prism

This morning’s Ottawa Citizen offers another hint of how the Harper Government might rule if it ever gets a majority. Internal correspondence sent by mistake to CanWest News Service shows that while then-Transport Minister Lawrence Cannon pretended to support a Liberal motion urging the government to produce legislation supporting airline passenger rights, his office was pleading with the major airlines to step up their lobbying efforts against the motion.

The documents also show that Transport Minister John Baird’s office failed to consult consumer groups while developing its Flight Rights Canada campaign last fall, but sought and received industry approval at every stage. Moneyquote:

The Conservative government launched Flight Rights Canada last fall to inform air travellers of their rights, but only after airline executives reviewed several drafts, provided input and approved the final product — a process that raised the ire of a top bureaucrat involved.

Details of the development of Flight Rights are revealed in correspondence between the minister’s office and senior bureaucrats. The government intended to block their release in response to an Access to Information request, but the full, uncensored documents were sent to Canwest News Service, apparently by mistake.

Hat tip: Bob Dimock