The consumer is king. Elsewhere. Not in Canada, though.

Corporate Canada has a longstanding habit of taking consumers for granted. Our airlines, banks and telecommunications providers — their markets protected by government from vigorous competition, regularly stiff-arm their consumers. Being law-abiding — and passive — Canadian consumers take it.

We overpay for cellphone services, we have to deal with a banking oligopoly and we’ve been drafted into the campaign to provide healthy retirements for dairy, egg and poultry farmers. Veterans, farmers and business all have their spokesmen around the cabinet table — but not consumers.

The latest example of this corporate behaviour comes from the Retail Council of Canada, which is fighting tooth and nail to maintain a barrier to online purchases from the U.S. that would inject a bit more competition into the Canadian marketplace.

Under a 30-year-old regulation, if you buy anything valued at $20 or more from outside Canada, you have to pay taxes, duties and brokerage fees, plus shipping costs. Critics say the rule can add 30 per cent or more to the cost of cross-border shipping. Retailers bleat that raising the threshold to say, $200, would give an unfair advantage to foreign online sellers — businesses which they say don’t pay their fair share of taxes.

In fact, what the retailers are really worried about is being forced to reduce their margins and work a bit harder for a living. As for the government, it’s prevaricating — apparently more concerned about upsetting Corporate Canada than helping consumers.

It’s an old story — one that anyone who flies frequently knows too well. Airline passengers have long loathed Air Canada for its habit of milking passengers, particularly on cross-border routes. You know those hour-long flights from Ottawa to New York City that can cost you $1,200 for a seat and are often half-empty as a result?

When Air Canada ran into financial problems a few years back, it convinced the federal government to give it a funding break on its big pension deficit. The airline wasn’t content with the handout, apparently. When Emirates Airlines tried to get better access to Canadian markets, Air Canada freaked — worried that it might actually have to face a bit more competition.

‘We’re right at the bottom’ when it comes to consumer rights, says Bruce Cran, president of the Consumers’ Association of Canada. ‘We’re down there with the Third World countries.’ ‘We’re right at the bottom’ when it comes to consumer rights, says Bruce Cran, president of the Consumers’ Association of Canada. ‘We’re down there with the Third World countries.’

So it convinced the Harper government to block Emirates from further expansion. The United Arab Emirates was furious and kicked the Canadian military out of Camp Mirage, the resupply base for Canada’s Afghan deployment. The move cost the government millions of dollars. But no matter. Anything to avoid competition for corporate Canada.

WestJet originally set out to be the anti-Air Canada, proud to be the down-home Walmart of the air. But it’s taken some tips from Air Canada when it comes to customer service. When oil prices plunged two years ago, WestJet CEO Gregg Saretsky famously told investors that he had no intention of giving his passengers a break on the sudden, sharp drop in its costs. “Our plan is not to pass any of it on,” he said proudly. “If demand stays robust, we will continue the pricing strategy we have had in effect, and take the opportunity to improve our bottom line.” Never mind the customers — we’ve got our stock options and bonuses to take care of.

Then WestJet decided that it was ready for the big leagues and began flying to Europe. Figuring Canadians wouldn’t notice, it bought four used Boeing 767 aircraft from Qantas. The planes are all a quarter-century-old, the kind of jets that usually get sold to startup carriers in the developing world or get parked indefinitely in the Mojave Desert.

No matter. WestJet gamely launched flights from six Canadian cities to London Gatwick in the spring. WestJet’s customers soon found they were guests on flights to nowhere as mechanical issues, long delays and cancellations piled up. Angry customers are still clocking in complaints on online websites. (Saretsky blamed it all on “teething pains.” More like the pain of old dentures that will never fit.)

The interesting part of this is that when passengers were faced with long delays and cancellations on flights originating in Gatwick, they could claim compensation of 600 euros apiece under European Union rules designed to protect consumers. WestJet complained that every time it cancelled a Gatwick originating flight, it was costing it $225,000.

But when it stiffed passengers embarking in Calgary or Toronto, WestJet was spared such costs because Canada leaves it up to the airlines to figure out how much compensation they provide. So stranded passengers would be lucky to get a meal voucher, or maybe a hotel room.

“We’re right at the bottom” when it comes to consumer rights, says Bruce Cran, president of the Consumers’ Association of Canada. “We’re down there with the Third World countries because we have no mandated protections. It’s what the airlines decide to give us.”

Transport Minister Marc Garneau has promised to review this lack of consumer protection and consider stronger regulation. Don’t hold your breath.

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