OTTAWA -- Transport Minister Omar Alghabra told the House of Commons transport committee the COVID-19 pandemic and resulting labour shortages are to blame for the significant wait times at Canadian airports, and said the ArriveCAN app is here to stay.
While Alghabra's office said the situation has been improving in recent weeks, significant delays and cancellations have plagued Canadian airports for months 鈥� even leading to Toronto's Pearson Airport being dubbed the .
Testifying remotely while he quarantines following a COVID-19 infection, Alghabra said there is 鈥渟till work to be done,鈥� but listed hiring more staff, and moving random mandatory COVID-19 testing off site from airports, as ways the government has tried to reduce airport bottlenecks.
鈥淚 want to be clear, that鈥檚 not an excuse, but it鈥檚 a fact,鈥� he said, explaining demand for travel surged beyond what was expected.
During Alghabra鈥檚 one-hour testimony, committee opposition members grilled the minister on the causes of the delays, who is to blame, and the treatment of air passengers, which NDP MP Taylor Bachrach called 鈥渟hameful.鈥�
Conservative transport critic Melissa Lantsman called it 鈥渄isappointing鈥� that Alghabra鈥檚 appearance before the committee lasted just an hour amidst the busy summer travel season. She also called the delays, specifically at Toronto鈥檚 Pearson Airport, an 鈥渋nternational embarrassment.鈥�
When Lantsman asked whether the government bears any responsibility in the delays, Alghabra replied that he 鈥渂lames it on COVID.鈥�
Lantsman later said she was 鈥渘ot getting any kind of answer鈥� to her questions, before pivoting to discussion of the oft-criticized ArriveCAN app and why the government is keeping it.
鈥淎rriveCAN is not contributing to the congestion,鈥� Alghabra replied. 鈥淚n fact, ArriveCAN is a useful tool that helps verify the vaccination status of an individual before arriving at our borders.鈥�
Still, opposition MPs continued to press the minister on the decision to continue using the app, despite the heavy critiques it鈥檚 drawn.
Alghabra 鈥� as well as witnesses from the Department of Transport, the Canadian Air Transport Security Authority, the Canada Border Services Agency, and the Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC) 鈥� was asked about the app鈥檚 perceived inefficacy, problems with the software, and privacy concerns.
A glitch with the app last month forced more than 10,000 people to unnecessarily quarantine.
But Alghabra defended the technology, maintaining that it saves time to digitize a process that would otherwise take longer to complete manually.
In a later interruption and interjection-filled exchange between the transport minister and Conservative MP Tony Baldinelli, the latter pressed Alghabra on whether the government is discouraging travellers from visiting Canada because of wait times at the borders.
鈥淭here鈥檚 nobody to blame but this Liberal government,鈥� Baldinelli said, warning of a possible 鈥渟elf-inflicted鈥� loss of another tourism year if the travel delays aren鈥檛 fixed, and restrictions aren鈥檛 dropped.
鈥淚t's unfortunate that the Conservatives have never taken COVID seriously,鈥� Alghabra fired back. 鈥淚t's unfortunate that the Conservatives supported these illegal blockades that blocked our borders and had a massive impact on border communities and have not apologized for it to this day.鈥�
Jennifer Lutfallah of PHAC said during the meeting there have been 190 tickets issued for non-compliance with ArriveCAN, which she called 鈥渧ery limited鈥� compared to the number of travellers. She added many of the infractions were for 鈥渞epeat offenders,鈥� people who refused either to give a paper submission, or to follow public health measures in the first place.
Now, NDP MPs are calling on the government to do more to protect passenger rights, so travellers can have their complaints heard and processed quicker, and access compensation for delays and cancellations.
