MP says Ottawa underestimated Canadians’ desire to travel again after pandemic

A member of Parliament says Ottawa may have underestimated Canadians’ desire to travel when planning for a return to normal following the end of most pandemic restrictions.

Airlines and airports have been grappling with a surge in customers this summer, compounded by staffing shortages affecting both carriers and federal agencies.

As a result, travellers have experienced widespread flight cancellations, baggage delays and lengthy lineups, particularly at Toronto’s Pearson International Airport.

Last month, due to a glitch, the ArriveCan app instructed about 10,200 travellers to quarantine for 10 days when they didn’t have to.

Annie Koutrakis, the parliamentary secretary to the minister of transport, told reporters in Calgary on Tuesday that planning for a return to normal fell a bit short.

“We did anticipate. Yes, the planning did start. What we underestimated, unfortunately, was the desire to which everyone wanted to travel and everyone wanted to travel at the same time,” Koutrakis said.

“The data shows us that we were not anticipating everybody to start travelling to the degree that they did. It’s not like we were waiting and not planning behind the scenes to be ready for it. It’s just more could have been done.”

Koutrakis said this is the first time the government has gone through a pandemic and there are lessons to be learned.

Transport Minister Omar Alghabra was grilled about the delays at a House of Commons committee last week.

Conservative MP Melissa Lantsman asked him if the federal government bears any responsibility and Alghabra replied: “I blame it on COVID.” He pointed to labour shortages as the primary contributor to the delays.

Koutrakis said data indicates that abandoning the ArriveCan app would increase delays and bottlenecks, and removing the mask mandate would not reduce wait times.