Editor:
Like many people, I am a victim of the Liberal government's refusal to have legislation that would oblige airlines to return monies to people who bought tickets in good faith and who through no fault of their own are denied the opportunity to fly.
The airline will not have the cost of operating the flight(s) and yet has the monies that members of the public paid in good faith for just that purpose.
The government must assume the responsibility, through legislation, of ensuring that monies designed for the flight costs is used for that purpose or be held in trust if the flight might not take place. The airline should not be allowed to have the monies disappear into some nefarious accounting scheme or be sidetracked to some other unrelated cost.
Certainly, the airlines should not be allowed to force a voucher of very uncertain pedigree and value on clients. Such a voucher has little intrinsic value, having no transferable options and offering no interest on the monies the airlines have pocketed.
Most governments in the Western world have legislation controlling airlines and their citizens are not given the uncertainty of losing a considerable amount of money. Such loss for Canadian citizens is exacerbated by the economic conditions that the COVID-19 pandemic has placed on so many.
My wife and I purchased tickets from Air Transat and are out of pocket to the tune of $4,950.20.
I feel that most of the Canadian electorate would be most insulted and unforgiving if the Liberal government gave bail out money to the two airlines, namely Air Canada and Air Transat. However, since they are both Quebec based, I feel that the Trudeau government will find it difficult to not give more money to these poorly run Quebec companies.
If that is the case, it would be politically better that those of us who are seriously out of pocket in these difficult economic times be not forgotten. An acceptable gesture might be to have the airlines re-pay monies to those out of pocket.
The airlines could then be made to bill the government for the costs, with proof of payment, and the amounts be deducted from the inevitable bail out money the airlines would be destined to receive.
Even a minority government has a bit more clout than the unsupported individual.
Alan Roberts
