DATE: April 15, 2026
ATTN:
Hon. Steven MacKinnon | steven.mackinnon@parl.gc.ca
CC:
Hon. Kelly Mccauley | kelly.mccauley@parl.gc.ca
Hon. Mark Carney | mark.carney@parl.gc.ca
RE: Systematic Discrimination Against Persons with Disabilities in Canadian Air Travel
Dear Minister MacKinnon,
It is with a profound sense of urgency and frustration that I write to you regarding the current state of air travel in Canada. For many Canadians, air travel is an essential service—required for maintaining family connections, accessing specialized medical care in other provinces, or participating in the national economy. However, for those of us living with disabilities, the experience of air travel is increasingly defined by systemic barriers and discriminatory practices.
While recent public discourse has rightly focused on the unacceptable frequency of damaged medical equipment and mobility aids, there is a quieter, equally damaging form of discrimination occurring: the treatment of service and guide dog handlers by our national airlines. My recent and ongoing experiences with two of our major national carriers demonstrate that these are not isolated incidents, but rather a reflection of a flawed regulatory environment.
It has become clear that in Canada, we have effectively created three distinct “classes” of citizenship regarding transportation:
Able-bodied citizens: Who enjoy seamless, autonomous travel.
Persons with disabilities who do not utilize service animals: Who face physical barriers but maintain some level of digital autonomy.
Persons with disabilities who work with service or guide dogs: Who are subjected to invasive, inconsistent, and degrading bureaucratic hurdles simply for choosing a mobility aid that is biological rather than mechanical.
Our national airlines have made travel for service dog handlers burdensome and emotionally exhausting. By imposing restrictive internal policies, they have effectively bypassed our rights to independence, autonomy, and dignity as protected under the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms.
To illustrate this disparity, I ask you to consider the following three scenarios:
The Able-Bodied Traveler: Books a flight three months in advance. They receive a digital notification 24 hours prior, check in via their smartphone, receive an electronic boarding pass, and proceed through security to their gate with zero friction.
The Traveler with a Disability (No Service Animal): Generally experiences the same digital autonomy as the able-bodied traveler, assuming no specialized physical assistance is required at the check-in counter.
The Traveler with a Service or Guide Dog: Upon booking months in advance, they are mandated by airline policy to “apply” for travel at least 48 hours before departure. They must submit the dog’s height, weight, length, and girth, and provide “proof of task” or identification—documentation that is not even legally required or provided in every jurisdiction.
The most egregious barrier, however, is the refusal to issue electronic boarding passes to service dog handlers. For those of us with vision loss, digital documents are a cornerstone of our independence. We use screen readers and adaptive technology to access information that sighted travelers take for granted. By forcing us to wait in line for a paper pass, the airlines are not only stripping us of our time but also our autonomy. We are then subjected to an “assessment” at the airport by airline staff who often lack the specialized training required to evaluate a professional service animal. We are not told who is assessing us or what criteria are being used, creating an environment of constant anxiety where our right to travel can be revoked on a
I am exhausted, Minister MacKinnon. I am exhausted by the constant need to advocate simply to exist and move within my own country. It is dehumanizing to be told, through policy and practice, that my life and my travel are “less than” because my mobility aid has a heartbeat.
We require immediate action and meaningful consultation. This consultation must involve disabled individuals directly, rather than relying solely on large organizations that may not represent the lived realities of independent handlers.
Why is it that I can fill out a Department of Justice attestation form for the United States and travel with dignity, yet in Canada, I must plead for my rights every time I enter an airport? I urge your office to review the Accessible Transportation for Persons with Disabilities Regulations (ATPDR) and hold our national carriers accountable for these discriminatory practices.
I look forward to your response and to hearing how your ministry intends to restore equality to the Canadian skies.
Respectfully,
Douglas Rudolph
