OTTAWA — Canadian politicians may be trying to bask in the glow of Olympic gold medal performances but Canada’s travel industry is not impressed with the federal government. Not only have the feds added an increased security fee on Canada’s already overburdened air travellers, the government is being slammed for its continued inaction and failure to come up with a national scheme to protect clients from the failure of airlines and other travel suppliers.

With some 18% of Canadians already heading to U.S. airports because of lower taxes and fees there, Transport Minister John Baird has made it worse by increasing the fees passengers pay for airport security which many believe is nothing but a charade in any case.

“Our government believes that the cost should be borne by those who use the service, not by Canadian taxpayers,” Baird told a news conference last week at Ottawa International Airport. The fees, which now range from $5 to $17 depending on a flight’s destination, will increase April 1 by $2.58 for a one-way domestic ticket; $4.37 for a flight to the U.S. and $8.91 for an international ticket.

Meanwhile both ACTA and ARTA Canada slammed the feds over the failure of yet another Hugh Boyle company – Go Travel South in Halifax.

David McCaig, president and COO of ACTA, said “the federal government should be hanging its head in shame today after years of ignoring the travel industry’s pleas for a national consumer protection system after more travelling consumers were left out in the cold by another charter tour operator collapse”.

“The travel industry has been ready for a long time to work with the federal and provincial governments on a plan that will protect Canadians right across the country but the feds have been turning their backs on us and consumers,” said McCaig in a statement to ACTA members.

Hugh Boyle, who was a founder of failed carrier Zoom Airlines and tour operator Go Travel Direct in Ottawa, opened Go Travel South in Nova Scotia, an unregulated province. It posted a message on its website Wednesday night stating that ‘economic circumstances’ had caused it to stop operations, wrecking vacations for thousands of families as they enter the prime spring break travel time. “This isn’t the first time a charter tour operator has moved to a non-regulated jurisdiction and set up a shop offering cheap travel with no guarantees consumers will ever get off the ground,” McCaig said. He adds there must have been numerous signs that Go Travel South was in trouble but that only governments and financial institutions would have been able to step in before consumers were irreparably hurt.

Go Travel South is not a member of ACTA.

“I am disgusted; the travel industry has worked hard to set high standards and maintain honest, ethical businesses while a few operators take advantage of the government’s willful ignorance,” said McCaig. “Each traveller should be asking their MPs and MPPs today why governments let Canadians lose their hard-earned money and have their dreams destroyed. The federal government has three good models (B.C., Quebec and Ontario) to use to protect all Canadians, McCaig noted.

“Today, we have another sad situation that proves we can’t depend on Ottawa.”

ARTA Canada called for the federal government to take the matter of travel consumer protection more seriously and to compel the federal Consumer Measures Committee (CMC) to produce an aggressive timeline to launch a national protection plan for travel consumers and a national regulatory regime for travel operators.

“The CMC has been idling any interest or action on dealing with travel consumer protection since 2004. It’s shameful that the federal government cannot move this issue forward so that travellers can be protected on a national basis. Both consumers and local retail travel agents suffer when these unscrutinized tour operators shut down, leaving consumers holding worthless tickets and tour arrangements and leaving travel dreams shattered. We simply cannot allow a tour company to set-up shop in a province without regulatory oversight of travel operators so as to avoid the higher standards of business operations and consumer protection afforded in BC, Ontario, and Québec,” said ARTA Canada president Bruce Bishins.

Bishins, a former board member of Ontario’s travel industry regulator, TICO (Travel Industry Council of Ontario), has been a long-time proponent of a national travel consumer protection plan, financed by an optional, small fee paid by travellers who wish such protection. A mandatory nationwide plan, financed by travel consumers as it is in Québec, is also a viable option, he said.

“Credit card companies will soon reject being the fall guy for these failed travel companies. It’s difficult enough for travel merchants to maintain processing agreements to facilitate consumers’ desire to pay by credit card. If our industry and government do not take steps to protect consumers via other means, the entire industry will suffer a credit crunch of devastating consequences to industry stakeholders and consumers who wish to pay for their travel on a credit card,” added Bishins.