The Canadian Transportation Agency (CTA) and an advocacy organization for airline passenger rights are butting heads.

Gabor Lukacs, president of the Air Passenger Rights group, says the airline regulator "unlawfully pressured" a passenger to remove a Facebook post about a complaint decision.

He shared screenshots of an email he received from Dany Ross, director of the Air Travel Complaints Resolution Office at the CTA, to the Air Passenger Rights Facebook group Tuesday night.

In the email, Ross notifies Lukacs that "a recently issued confidential air travel complaint decision" that was posted in the Facebook group in full has been removed by the passenger involved in the ruling at the CTA’s request.

"Decisions issued by an Agency complaint Resolution Officer are otherwise confidential, unless all involved parties agree to the contrary," reads Ross’ email, citing federal legislation under the Canada Transportation Act. 

"We would appreciate your collaboration in preventing future public sharing of confidential information," he added.

Lukacs said over email that he is disappointed in the regulator's move to "suppress public criticism."

"Without public access to the decisions and the evidence, it is not possible for anyone (public, media, academics) to scrutinize the outcomes of these complaint, and the adjudication becomes a kind of black hole — immunizing decision-makers from virtually all accountability and scrutiny," he said.

CTA spokesperson Jadrino Huot confirmed that Ross sent an email to Lukacs.

Huot also referred to the Canada Transportation Act, adding that the agency already publishes some information about the outcome of air travel complaints on its site.

This includes the number of the flight the complaint is associated with, the date of departure of the flight that's on the complainant’s ticket, whether any flight delay, flight cancellation or denial of boarding was within the carrier's control, and whether or not the complaint resolution officer ordered the airline to provide compensation or a refund.

However, Lukacs argues that this mandate infringes on Canadians' right to access and post legally binding decisions, infringing on the principles of open justice protected under the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms.

He cites a 2023 article from Paul Daly, chair in administrative law and governance at the University of Ottawa.

"Decision-making would be done in the shadows, on the basis of past decisions and guidelines that have only seen the light of day to the extent the Agency chooses," wrote Daly.

Lukacs adds that there is a practical issue when it comes to passengers choosing whether to bring their complaints to the CTA or small claims court, as they cannot do both.

"Knowing how the CTA handles their complaints in terms of outcomes helps passengers (complainants) to make an informed decision as to where they take their complaints," he explained.