New Brunswick Education Minister Dominic Cardy, seen here in August, blasts Air Canada. The Canadian Press
New Brunswick’s education minister blasted Air Canada, saying the airline was incompetent for deciding over the weekend to cancel a Monday flight that would have taken him and four employees to a meeting in Regina.
Dominic Cardy posted a series of tweets Saturday saying the cancellation — announced earlier in the day — meant New Brunswick would not have representation at this year’s Council of Ministers of Education meeting.
Cardi followed up by calling for deregulation of the Canadian airline.
“Speaking for myself,” he wrote. “I hope Canadians start to question why we pay more for flights than anyone else in the world in exchange for terrible service.” Paying for unavailable services is not left versus right. It’s called being robbed.
His comments sparked an online debate, with some people asking the minister why his delegation had to attend in person instead of taking part in a Zoom call, which would have saved taxpayers money.
In response, Cardi said he did not run the council, and he doubled down, suggesting that “incompetent and spoiled airlines” who take money for services they know they cannot provide may be committing fraud.
Air Canada could not immediately be reached for comment.
One online commenter suggested that Cardi try booking a flight on another airline.
“It crossed my mind to check for other tickets on other airlines, but thanks for the professional advice,” the minister tweeted.
The comment prompted the following response: “Your audacity is top notch!”
Air Canada announced last week that it would cut more than 15 percent of its July and August schedule — more than 9,500 flights — due to an air transport system bogged down by rising demand.
Also last week, Calgary-based WestJet Airlines confirmed it was operating 32 percent fewer flights to and from Toronto Pearson International Airport in July than before the COVID-19 pandemic.
In recent weeks, the airline industry’s logistical problems have led to long lines, disrupted connections and canceled flights at many Canadian airports.
As for Cardi’s call for deregulation, one sarcastic observer suggested deregulation of several other industries and public institutions, including “everything from soup to baby formula, health care … and let’s go back to the Middle Ages!”
Cardi’s response was direct: “This all sounds extremely stupid. But you do.
This isn’t the first time Cardi has taken aim at Canadian airlines. He called for deregulation on June 11, saying Atlantic Canadians were paying fraudulent fees for delayed and canceled flights.
“Atlantic Canada has the worst commercial airlines of any place I’ve lived, including Bangladesh and Nepal,” he tweeted. “The (Canadian) government needs to deregulate the airline industry, as most countries did decades ago.”
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