TORONTO, Ont. – No more guessing what the real cost is of your airline ticket.

The government announced that it is proceeding with regulations requiring Canadian air carriers to include all fees and taxes in their advertised prices.

But it will be a year or more before the amendments to the Canada Transportation Act take effect.

Federal Minister of State Steven Fletcher revealed the details at a news conference in Ottawa, Friday.
 
“Our government is committed to enhancing consumer protection while promoting fair competition by ensuring greater transparency of  advertised airfares for Canadian travellers,” Fletcher said.

“This will allow consumers to easily determine the full cost of airfares in order to make informed choices,” he added.

Advertised ticket prices rarely include extra charges, which in some cases can virtually double the posted price of airline tickets.

The undisclosed amounts include Nav Canada fees, airport improvement charges, fuel surcharges, insurance and air security charges.

Consumers also have to add taxes — GST or Harmonized Sales Tax, and possibly sales tax or other taxes depending on the province or country.

Parliamentary Secretary for Transport, Pierre Poilievre, said that too often people are drawn in by big ads showing an excellent flight deal.

“But as we know, usually, the price we see is not the price we pay. The rules that we are announcing today, will ensure that what you see is what you pay.”

However, after much questioning, the government could not answer some key concern such as, will email newsletters face the same rules or will foreign airliners still get away with this by advertising prices on their websites, which are not based in Canada.

The announcement also does not apply to travel agencies because they are provincial jurisdiction. Although Ontario, British Columbia and Quebec already have their own rules in place.

Legislation against these actions were technically passed in 2007.

When asked why it had taken so long for the government to act, Poilievre said they waited because the honest advertising would have put Canadian airlines at a competitive disadvantage.

The Canadian Transportation Agency is to begin the process of drafting regulations, including consulting stakeholders.