A special House of Commons transport committee meeting is taking place this week in Ottawa to find out what happened during the chaotic holiday travelling season.  

Many people who flew away to sunny destinations over the Christmas holiday found themselves stranded due to airline delays and cancellations.  

Moose Jaw – Lake Centre – Lanigan MP Fraser Tolmie does not sit on the transport committee, so his comments on the matter were limited. He did feel bad for those who were left stranded, calling it a “dog’s breakfast.”  

“After COVID and people having had travel restrictions, they're wanting to breathe. They're wanting to go away. They want to go and be able to enjoy their time, and then they're confronted with this and obviously it's been very stressful and very difficult for people, he said.  

The committee meeting is expected to include representatives from WestJet, Air Canada and Sunwing as well as the Vancouver, Toronto and Montreal airport authorities.  

Notably, none of the Saskatchewan airport authorities will be speaking directly to the committee. They will be represented by the Canadian Airports Council.  

Tolmie said Saskatchewan’s airports should have a seat at the table when it comes to national air travel matters.  

“We have to keep ourselves relevant and we can't have people just flying over us. We have to have people flying into us. We've got a growing economy. We're a major stakeholder in this and we're part of the Confederation and we should have a conversation,” he said.  

Saskatchewan was one of the hardest hit regions over the holiday season as Sunwing pulled out of the Regina and Saskatoon airports, leaving Saskatchewan residents scrambling to find ways to get home.