The Canadian Transportation Agency (CTA) is set to reduce a $790 fee meant to make airlines pay for air passenger complaints — after behind-the-scenes pressure from the airline industry and former transport minister Anita Anand, internal documents reveal.

Records obtained by Go Public under the Access to Information Act show airlines lobbied aggressively against the fee — and that Transport Canada and the then-transport minister echoed those concerns directly to the regulator, which is supposed to operate at arm’s-length from government.

An air passenger advocate says the documents raise serious concerns about political interference and who the system is really designed to serve. 

“The minister and Transport Canada have been promoting the airlines’ private business interests — as opposed to the public interest,” said Air Passenger Rights founder Gábor Lukács, who reviewed the documents. “That’s reprehensible.”

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Go Public requested the internal documents from Transport Canada in May 2025. It took 10 months to receive them.

The records run only from August 2024 until March 2025 — likely because a federal election was called that month, limiting government activity to core functions. 

‘They are bucking Parliament’

The air passenger complaints fee was ordered by Parliament in 2023 as part of an effort to make airlines help pay for the growing cost of handling passenger complaints.

At the same time, the federal government gave the agency almost $76 million in temporary funding to deal with a mounting backlog — money set to expire at the end of this month. Transport Minister Steven MacKinnon would not say whether funding will be renewed.

The CTA proposed a fee of $790, which would apply to all eligible complaints processed by the agency. It then held public consultations in the fall of 2024, but the fee has yet to be implemented.

“There is a clear order by Canada’s Parliament that it must be implemented,” said Lukács. “They are bucking Parliament.” 

Meanwhile, the CTA says it has seen a significant increase in complaints, noting it received a record 5,685 complaints in January. The backlog now sits at roughly 95,000 complaints, with some passengers waiting up to three years to have complaints resolved.

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The federal government is weighing whether millions of dollars in funding should be extended to clear a backlog of airline complaints, potentially delaying the process for Canadians to have their grievances addressed.

Airlines push back, minister echoes their concerns

The documents show how airline lobbying efforts quickly reached the highest levels of government.

In September 2024 — just days after Anand became transport minister — WestJet wrote to her, calling the proposed $790 fee “completely disproportionate” and urging her to intervene. 

Days later, Anand wrote to CTA Chair France Pégeot, echoing some of the specific concerns WestJet had raised, like the fee amount and efficiencies at the CTA. 

She also cited the specific section of the Canada Transportation Act the airline had noted, claiming it required the CTA to consult the minister before implementing the fee. A constitutional expert previously interviewed by CBC noted that was not the case.

Anand’s letter also used a specific term that WestJet had used — “natural justice” — to argue that airlines could be denied access to a fair hearing if the $790 fee takes effect.

“The minister and Transport Canada officials have been acting as the mouthpiece for the airlines,” said Lukács. “They have been acting as WestJet’s best lobbyist.”

The airlines’ concerns were also being heard in the Privy Council Office. In an email from September 2024, an official at the department wrote that WestJet had said it was “furious” about the fee.

WestJet did not respond to Go Public’s questions about the fee proposal or its efforts to lobby against the fee.

Anand, now the minister of foreign affairs, did not reply to questions from CBC News sent via email.

Transport Canada wrote that it is “standard practice” to share views on the air sector, and that none of the discussions “were intended to fetter” the CTA’s independence.

The National Airlines Council of Canada, an industry group that represents the country’s biggest airlines, also wrote to Anand during this time, requesting her “intervention” for “immediate action.”

The CTA told Go Public it had “no issue” with the minister’s requests to be consulted, saying the agency regularly meets with the minister to discuss resources and potential regulatory amendment proposals.

Duff Conacher, co-founder of Democracy Watch, says it’s not surprising that the government intervened on behalf of the airline industry, because corporations “have the power, they have the money, they have lobbyists.”

Government pushed for even lower fee, documents show

The documents suggest industry pressure to lower the fee worked.

After public consultations wrapped, the CTA said it was considering lowering the fee from $790 to $450. 

Documents show Anand pushed for a much deeper reduction — $250 for large airlines and $150 for smaller carriers — arguing that anything higher would hurt the industry. 

WATCH | What’s behind delays to make airlines help pay for complaints process:

Why taxpayers are still footing bill for airline complaints process

The airline complaints process costs taxpayers nearly $30 million a year. Parliament ordered airlines to help pay, but internal documents obtained by CBC’s Go Public reveal delays and political pressure.

Under that model, Transport Canada’s own analysis, included in the internal documents CBC News reviewed, shows taxpayers would be on the hook for up to 90 per cent of the agency’s complaint-handling costs — between $25 million and $30 million.

“Transport Canada cannot dictate to the CTA what to do,” said Lukács. “That is precisely what they are doing.”

When asked about the lower fee, the CTA said it couldn’t comment, because the amount had not yet been finalized.

Industry argues fees could drive payouts

Airlines and Transport Canada officials have argued that higher fees could create unintended consequences.

Because the fee would apply to all eligible complaints — regardless of whether the airline is at fault — they say carriers might be incentivized to pay passengers even when they shouldn’t have to. 

At the same time, the documents suggest the CTA is now considering a narrower fee structure, applying only to complaints that cannot be resolved through mediation.

Two months after public consultations wrapped, records show the CTA appeared to have lost any momentum to get an air passenger complaints fee on the table.

In late 2024, the CTA told Transport Canada it’s “not rushing” to implement the fee, according to the department’s meeting notes.

Meanwhile, Anand repeatedly urged the CTA to hold off — asking the regulator not to introduce the fee until broader changes to air passenger protection rules were in place, and requesting more direct consultation with her office.

When asked why the fee has still not been implemented, the CTA did not respond.