2022 QCCQ 214, 2022 QCCQ 214

Catalan c. Air Transat 2022 QCCQ 214 COURT OF QUÉBEC (Small Claims Division) CANADA PROVINCE OF QUEBEC DISTRICT OF MONTREAL Civil Division No: 500-32-159962-192 DATE: January 19, 2022 ______________________________________________________________________ BEFORE THE HONOURABLE DIANE QUENNEVILLE, J.C.Q. ______________________________________________________________________ INGRID CAROL CATALAN -and- KRISHAN GOPAL VAIRAGI Plaintiffs v.

AIR TRANSAT Defendant ______________________________________________________________________ JUDGMENT ______________________________________________________________________ [ 1 ] In April 2017, the Plaintiffs purchased a one-week holiday package to travel to Cuba in June 2017. While Ms. Catalan is a Canadian citizen, Mr. Vairagi is an Indian citizen with permanent resident status in Canada.

At the time, he had just received a written confirmation of this status, but had not yet obtained his Permanent Resident Card, nor did he expect to receive it prior to the trip to Cuba. [ 2 ] Plaintiffs made inquiries with the Canadian immigration services to ensure that they had all required documents to travel to Cuba and return to Canada. When they came to board their departure flight, however, Air Transat refused to let Mr. Vairagi board on the basis that he did not have the proper documents to enter Cuba. Although there was no issue with Ms.

Catalan’s travel documents, she refused to travel on her own given the nature of the trip. [ 3 ] Plaintiffs later sought that Air Transat reschedule their trip, to no avail. [ 4 ] They now seek compensatory and punitive damages from Air Transat. They maintain that they had all the documents required for travel to Cuba and that Air Transat committed a fault when it refused to allow Mr. Vairagi to board. [ 5 ] Air Transat denies any liability. It submits that because Mr. Vairagi did not have as Permanent Resident Card, he needed a visa to enter Cuba. Given that Mr.

Vairagi did not have a visa, Air Transat claims that it was right not to allow him to board. questions in issue [ 6 ] In order to decide the case, the Court needs to answer the following questions:

a) Did Plaintiffs present to Air Transat all documents required for Mr. Vairagi to travel to Cuba when they attempted to board their departure fight?

b) Did Air Transat commit a fault in the way that it dealt with Plaintiffs when they attempted to board?

c) If so, are Plaintiffs entitled to the amounts claimed? ANALYSIS

a) Did Plaintiffs present to Air Transat all documents required for Mr. Vairagi to travel to Cuba when they attempted to board their departure fight? [ 7 ] Two preliminary comments are in order before considering this question. [ 8 ] Firstly, as Plaintiffs themselves admit, they were responsible for obtaining all required travel documents and for having them at the time of departure.

This appears, notably, from Plaintiff’s electronic booking form which states that: [1] Passengers are responsible for obtaining all travel documents, at their own expense, required by relevant government authorities and for retaining them at the time of departure. For more information about required travel documents, visit https://iatatravelcentre.com or https://www.travel.qc.ca or call us at 1-877- TRANSAT. [ 9 ] Secondly, the Court concludes that Plaintiff Vairagi did not present the required documents to travel to Cuba and re-enter

Canada for the following reasons. [ 10 ] According to Plaintiffs, Mr. Vairagi could travel to Cuba with his Indian passport and the written confirmation of his Canadian permanent residency status, which documents he presented to Air Transat. He also needed a Tourist Card, but this could be purchased on arrival in Cuba, as Air Transat confirmed at trial.

To return to Canada, he needed an additional travel document – a Permanent Resident Travel Document or PRTD – but this could be obtained from the Canadian embassy in Havana. [ 11 ] Plaintiffs claim that this information was confirmed to them by the Canadian immigration authorities. They refer in this regard to one email exchanges that Ms. Catalan had with Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada ( IRCC ) and with the Canadian embassy in Cuba. [2] According to Plaintiffs, these documents prove that Mr.

Varaigi had the required documents. [ 12 ] The Court disagrees. [ 13 ] On close scrutiny, the emails obtained from IRCC and the Canadian embassy in Cuba deal only with the requirements of Mr. Vairagi’s return to Canada and not with the documents required for him to enter Cuba. [ 14 ] This is clear from the following passage of IRCC’s email to Ms.

Catalan [3] : Travel document (permanent resident abroad) We have a way to accommodate you if you are (or you will be) outside Canada without a valid Permanent Resident Card (PR card), and need to return to Canada on a commercial vehicle (e.g., plane, train, boat or bus). You simply need to obtain a permanent resident travel document (PRTD) to travel back to Canada following the steps below. […] [Emphasis added] [ 15 ] The same applies to the email from the Canadian embassy, which explains how Mr.

Vairagi could obtain the required PRTD while in Cuba: [4] If you do not currently hold a valid Permanent Resident Card, you will require a Travel Document, affixed in your passport to return to Canada as a Permanent Resident (providing your obligation has been met.). […] How to submit an application: to apply you must submit your current passport, application form and processing fees to the Embassy of Canada, Havana, for assessment. […] Processing time/Where to apply: Application submitted in person at the Embassy of Canada, Havana, will be assessed on the same day if you submit your application early in the morning and you have provided supporting documents showing you have resided in Canada for at least 730 days during the last 5 years. [Emphasis added] [ 16 ] Nothing in these emails addresses Cuba’s requirements regarding entry onto its territory of someone in Mr.

Vairagi’s situation and Plaintiffs have provided no other evidence to support their assertion that the only documents needed were his Indian passport and the written confirmation of his permanent resident status. [ 17 ] Air Transat, on the other hand, filed extracts from the Iata travel centre website to which Plaintiff’s electronic booking form refers (see above at para. 9) indicating that to enter Cuba, an Indian citizen who is a Canadian permanent resident must have a Visa, except if he or she has a residence permit issued by Canada: [5] National India (IN) / Residence Canada (CA) Destination Cuba […] INFORMATION normal passports Passport required. - Passports and other documents accepted for entries must be valid on arrival.

Visa required, except for Nationals of India with a residence permit issued by Canada . They must also hold a Tourist Card (Tarjeta del Turista) issued to visitors travelling as tourists. […] [Emphasis Added] [ 18 ] There is no doubt that a Permanent Resident Card is a “residence permit issued by Canada.” If Mr. Vairagi had received this card and presented it to Air Transat, he would have been allowed to board. The question at issue is whether in the absence of a Permanent Resident Card, the written confirmation of Mr.

Vairagi’s permanent resident status could be considered as a “residence permit issued by Canada” sufficient for travel, as Plaintiffs submit. [ 19 ] The Court does not believe so because the written confirmation at issue bears a watermark indicating that it is “not valid for travel”. [ 20 ] Consequently, since Mr. Vairagi did not have a “residence permit issued by Canada”, the Court concludes on the facts that he needed a Visa to enter Cuba.

[ 21 ] Plaintiff did not present to Air Transat all documents required for Mr. Vairagi to travel to Cuba when they attempted to board their departure fight.

b) Did Air Transat commit a fault in the way that it dealt with Plaintiffs when they attempted to board or in the context of their claim? [ 22 ] Given that Mr. Vairagi did not have a visa at the time of boarding, Plaintiffs submission that Air Transat committed a fault by refusing to let him board the departure flight is ill-founded and must be dismissed. [ 23 ] Plaintiffs’ argument that Air Transat’s agents committed a fault by neglecting to make verification with IRCC and the Canadian embassy in Havana is also ill-founded. Air Transat had no obligations to make such verification.

The booking confirmation made it clear that Plaintiffs were responsible for ensuring that they had all required documents with them at the time of travel. In any event, these verification would have been of no consequence as the problem with Mr.

Vairagi’s documents concerned his entry on Cuban territory and not his return to Canada. [ 24 ] Finally, the long delays for Air Transat to respond to Plaintiffs’ complaint may show poor customer service, but they do not establish a breach Air Transat’s obligations. [ 25 ] Given the Court’s conclusions on the first two questions in the issue, it is unnecessary for the Court to consider the damages claimed. FOR THESE REASONS, THE COURT: DISMISSES the action; WITH LEGAL COSTS of $154 representing the judicial stamp on the Demand or Contestation. __________________________________ DIANE QUENNEVILLE, J.C.Q.

Date of hearing: October 22, 2021