federal traditionalist And NDP Liberals are requesting immediate testimony from the transport minister after hundreds of commuters were left stranded over the holidays.
Tory and New Democrat members of the House of Commons transport committee sent a letter to the chair of the committee on Wednesday requesting an urgent meeting.
“It is not enough for a Liberal minister to tweet that the situation was unacceptable,” NDP transport critic Taylor Bacharach said in a statement Wednesday.
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“He’s the minister overseeing Canada’s transportation system and has specific powers under the law. If anyone can do anything to protect commuters, it’s him. Canadians deserve to know what he did during the crisis and What steps should be taken in future for the safety of passengers.
The committee’s chair, Liberal member of parliament Peter Shifke, tweeted on Tuesday that he planned to convene a meeting with the CEOs of Sunwing Airlines and VIA Rail to address the travel crisis.
Opposition MPs are requesting that any hearing also include a two-hour question-and-answer period with Alghabra.
The Standing Committees usually meet on a previously adopted agenda or at the call of the Chairman, but may be convened at the written request of four of its members.
In addition to Bachrach, the Conservative Party’s transport critic Mark Strahl signed the letter, as did the other three Tories on the committee.
The Speaker will now have to call a meeting to consider the written request within five calendar days.
NDP leader Jagmeet Singh said earlier Wednesday that the holiday travel woes of travelers left stranded at airports or struggling to find flights home showed why there should be more competition in Canadian airspace.
At a press conference, Singh said a lack of choice for passengers is also making flying less affordable, and he is calling on the liberal government to find ways to make the airline industry more competitive.
The Canadian Transportation Agency requires domestic air service operators to be majority owned and controlled by Canadians, limiting options for passengers _ especially in rural or remote areas.
Hundreds of people were stranded in Mexico when Sunwing canceled flights over the holidays, and the airline has stopped flying out of Saskatchewan entirely until next month.
Air Canada is discontinuing flights from Saskatoon and Regina to Calgary this month, after discontinuing flights from Yellowknife to Edmonton last year.
Singh met Transport Minister Omar Alagbra to ensure better oversight.
“We need to make sure that people have access to be able to move across the country and it’s affordable,” Singh said.
“And right now, for a lot of people, it’s not there at all. It’s something that we need to look into and find a solution to.”
A spokeswoman for Alghabra’s office said the government was doing everything it could to help the passengers.
“All options are on the table to ensure that what happened over the holidays does not happen again,” Nadine Ramadan said in a written statement.
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