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Canada report

Jetsgo passengers hope for refunds

By JIM FOX
Published March 13, 2005

Thousands of frustrated passengers grounded by the collapse of discount airline Jetsgo wonder if they'll get their money refunded.

In a shutdown that brought back memories of the demise of charter carrier Canada 3000 in 2001, Jetsgo grounded its planes without warning early Friday just as the March school break began.

The action by the Montreal-based airline left 17,000 passengers without a flight as competitors Air Canada and WestJet Airlines added capacity to handle some of them.

Court documents show the privately owned airline with 1,200 employees lost $55-million in the past eight months.

Michel Leblanc, Jetsgo founder and majority owner, blamed the need to seek bankruptcy protection from creditors on "attacks" by rival WestJet.

Jetsgo had 29 aircraft flying to 20 destinations in Canada, nine in the United States and the Caribbean, and 280,000 passengers a month.

Federal Transport Minister Jean Lapierre said some passengers might be able to get refunds.

Ontario, British Columbia and Quebec have compensation funds that will reimburse travelers if a ticket is bought through a registered travel agent, and some credit card companies provide refunds.

Advertising firms involved in the federal "sponsorship scandal" are being sued by the Canadian government in a bid to recover $39-million.

The suit, filed in Quebec Superior Court, names 11 companies and eight people, including Chuck Guite, the bureaucrat who ran the sponsorship program of the former Liberal government.

The companies are Jean Lafleur Communications Marketing Inc., Groupaction Marketing Inc., Gosselin Communications Strategiques Inc., Gosselin Relations Publique Inc., Gestion Operations Tibet Inc. (Groupe Everest), Communication Coffin, Publicite Martin Inc., Malcolm Media Inc. (Expour 2000), Le Groupe Polygone Editeurs, Media I.D.A. Vision Inc. and Draft Inc. of Chicago.

The suit also names Jean Lafleur, Jean Brault, Claude Boulay, Gilles Gosselin, Paul Coffin, Jacques Paradis and Luc Lemay. Guite, Brault, Coffin and Paradis already related face fraud charges.

The federal auditor general said Liberal-friendly ad agencies and others were paid about $100-million in commissions, sometimes for little or no work.

"They have fallen in service to us," Prime Minister Paul Martin told 11,000 people crammed into the University of Alberta pavilion for the memorial for four slain Mounties. It began with a milelong parade of scarlet-clad Mounties and police from across North America. Constables Anthony Gordon, 28, Leo Johnston, 32, Brock Myrol, 29, and Peter Schiemann, 25, were ambushed by James Roszko in a barn filled with stolen goods and marijuana near Mayerthorpe. Roszko then killed himself.

Statistics Canada blames the higher-valued Canadian dollar and the silenced professional hockey season for thousands of lost jobs. Employment fell by 20,000 in accommodation and food services, largely because there were no NHL games, the agency said. While the overall unemployment rate held steady at 7 percent in February, there were 28,000 jobs lost in manufacturing as the dollar made Canadian goods less competitive on the world market.

The Canadian dollar has made strong gains, rising to 83.06 U.S. cents Friday, while the U.S. dollar is at $1.2039 Canadian, before bank exchange fees.

The Bank of Canada's key interest rate is steady at 2.5 percent, while the prime lending rate remains 4.25 percent.

Stock markets are lower, with Toronto's composite index at 9,695 points and the Canadian Venture Exchange at 1,966 points.

Lotto 6-49: (Wednesday) 4, 10, 11, 18, 23 and 34; bonus 49. (March 5) 6, 12, 20, 21, 24 and 43; bonus 22.

A man soaked himself in gasoline and set himself on fire in a van outside the Ontario Legislature in Toronto during a protest by hundreds of farmers. Anh Vuong, 50, is being treated for extensive burns and a fractured skull.

British Columbia's attorney general, Geoff Plant, won't seek re-election on May 17. He wants to spend time with his wife, Janet, who has cancer.

Nova Scotia plans to use its $20-million share of federal child care money to improve accessibility to programs, especially for low-income families, for more spaces and lower fees. Community Services Minister David Morse said infant care is a priority.

Jim Fox can be reached at canadareport@hotmail.com

[Last modified March 13, 2005, 00:24:03]