Canada’s passport application backlog has been ‘completely eliminated,’ one of the top ministers in the Trudeau government says. CTV News reports tat Families, Children and Social Development Minister Karina Gould this week said that service times for passport applications are back to pre-pandemic standards, after the backlog ballooned last summer. Canadians looking to renew their passports last summer found long wait lines and lengthy delays, an issue that passport officials said was due to a huge spike in demand for travel as COVID travel restrictions began to ease. The CBC reports that Canadians waiting anxiously for their passports to arrive before Read more
Ottawa
The number of air passenger complaints to Canada’s transport regulator has more than tripled over the past year, soaring past 42,000 as of this month, Canadian Press reports. Complaints totalled about 13,400 as of March 31, 2022, before skyrocketing to unprecedented highs in the ensuing 12 months, according to Canadian Transportation Agency reports. They hit 36,000 in late January, and rose by another 17 per cent since then. Ottawa recently announced $75.9 million in new funding to help deal with the backlog. Canadian Press reports another $11 million was given to the CTA last year, and that the number of Read more
Visitors to Las Vegas are extremely satisfied with their experience. A new survey also finds the typical Vegas visitor is getting younger and more diverse. According to research published this week by the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority (LVCVA), more than three-quarters (77 percent) of visitors to Las Vegas in 2022 said that they were “Very Satisfied” with their visit, up from 70% in 2021. Another one in five (20%) said they were “Somewhat Satisfied.”. Only3% of visitors were dissatisfied with their visit. Las Vegas met (53%) or exceeded (41%) expectations among the majority of visitors. Also, a vast Read more
It’s a new day in Canadian aviation, as WestJet has been cleared to take over Sunwing Vacations and Sunwing Airlines. But the Trudeau government is imposing conditions, and also is pledging to strengthen Canada’s weak airline passenger protection laws. Minister of Transport Omar Alghabra today announced that following Transport Canada’s assessment of the public interest, the Government of Canada has approved the acquisition of Sunwing Vacations and Sunwing Airlines by WestJet Airlines Ltd., subject to strict terms and conditions that are in the interest of Canadians. The minister said Ottawa’s assessment of the propsed deal incorporated the findings of the Read more
WestJet’s controversial takeover of Sunwing is set to be approved today by the Trudeau government. WestJet also has been given federal licenses for flights to Hong Kong, the Philippines, Singapore and Malaysia. The Globe and Mail this morning (March 10) reported that the announcement will be made today, providing WestJet with a huge increase in its share of the packaged vacation business. Calgary-based WestJet and Toronto-based Sunwing announced the proposed merger in March, 2022. The federal Competition Bureau later stated that the takeover would lead to fewer choices for Canadian travellers, and higher prices. The Globe story said the Trudeau Read more
