CBC Radio’s The House: What would it take to end Canada’s travel headaches? | CBC Radio

Travel issues plague passengers, government

The holidays are in the rearview mirror for most Canadians, but many can’t forget how their travel plans were disrupted by delays and cancellations at airports and train stations. Just over three years after a passenger bill of rights was introduced, travellers say they’re still not getting accountability from airlines — and Via Rail passengers are still looking for answers after being stranded on trains for more than 18 hours.

Transport Minister Omar Alghabra joins The House to discuss what the government is doing to ensure the industry and VIA Rail, a Crown corporation, treat clients fairly.

Three years later, the families of Flight PS752 victims still seek justice

This weekend marks three years since the Iranian Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps shot down a commercial plane, killing all 176 people on board. The families of the victims — who included 55 Canadian citizens and 30 permanent residents — are still looking for answers and accountability.

Hamed Esmaeilion, who lost his wife and daughter in the tragedy, and Kaveh Shahrooz, a lawyer acting as a consultant to the families, join host Catherine Cullen to reflect on how their lives have changed and whether the families will ever see justice.

What it means for Canada if the new U.S. Congress can’t get anything done

Dysfunction has been centre stage this week in Washington, D.C, as the House of Representatives endured round after round of failed attempts to elect a speaker. Canadian diplomats are watching this situation unfold just as Prime Minister Justin Trudeau prepares to meet with U.S. President Joe Biden and Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador in Mexico next week for the North American Leaders’ Summit. 

Kirsten Hillman, Canada’s ambassador to the United States, joins host Catherine Cullen to discuss the concerns this new Congress might raise for Canada, and what’s on deck for Canada-U.S. relations in the new year.

Is Canada ‘broken’? And will that be the next ballot-box question?

Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre has sharpened his critique of the federal government, arguing that a combination of problems involving passports, travel chaos, shortages of children’s medicine and an overwhelmed health-care system are leading Canadians to feel like “everything is broken.”

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has responded, but are Canadians receptive to the question — and the debate? And what are the political risks for each side?

The House hears from two strategists: Dan Arnold, who worked as a pollster for the Trudeau Liberals and is now the chief strategy officer at Pollara Insight; and Dennis Matthews, who led marketing and advertising for former prime minister Stephen Harper and is now president of Creative Currency.