stockwatch.com FP/CP say Air Canada told CTA settlements confidential
2024-07-11 09:36 ET - In the News
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The Financial Post reports in its Thursday edition that a consumer rights organization says the Canadian Transportation Agency is pressuring passengers to stay silent about its rulings on their complaints -- a move the country's airline regulator says is legal. A Canadian Press dispatch to the Post says the CTA has asked at least one complainant who posted a decision on the Air Passenger Rights' Facebook page to delete their post, said Gabor Lukacs, head the advocacy group. Mr. Lukacs called the move "unconstitutional," saying it limits free expression. "You cannot imagine a small claims court making a decision confidential," he said. Passengers should be allowed to share the outcome of cases brought before complaint resolution officers at the regulator, Mr. Lukacs argued. The rulings could inform other travellers seeking to file for compensation or refunds from an airline -- including customers who were on the same flight -- among other complaints. Otherwise, the adjudication process "becomes a kind of black hole" that insulates decision-makers from scrutiny and accountability, he said. Recent amendments to the Canada Transportation Act state the regulator can "decide to keep confidential any part of an order."