Department of transportation

• The United States Government Accountability Office (GAO) recently issued a report on the causes of flight disruptions before and after the pandemic.
• The report also outlined the challenges airlines faced managing and responding to these flight disruptions.
• The report was the result of requests made by the U.S. Congress to the GAO to examine key changes in the U.S. passenger airline industry resulting from the pandemic.

Canadian airline reforms

• The meeting focused on the need to better protect air travellers’ rights in the face of such events.
• At the end of April, Alghabra announced reforms for the Canadian Transportation Agency’s appeal-handling process and the Canadian Transportation Act.
• In particular, the amendments will increase the maximum fine for violations to $250,000 and charge carriers with the regulatory cost of complaints.

U.S. airline reforms

• The U.S. Department of Transportation has recently initiated passenger protection regulation development similar to the ones Canada has had in place since 2019.
• An intriguing element of the GAO report is its review of the U.S. Department of Transportation’s awareness of airline scheduling practices and how such practices have impacted flight delays and cancellations.
• The Department of Transportation indicated it will make an effort next year to build and sustain its oversight and analysis of airline scheduling practices.

Lessons for Canada

• But it is equally — if not more — important to address the underlying causes of such disruptions.
• Should Transport Canada step into this oversight role?
• It might be time to seriously consider establishing a distinct civil aviation authority, separate from Transport Canada.

• Since first launching the Volvo Blue service contract, Volvo Trucks has onboarded and certified 37 dealer locations across the U.S., with an additional seven locations coming online in the near future.
• Adaptive Maintenance Approach to Increase Uptime — The Volvo Blue service contract provides an individualized maintenance plan for each vehicle based on its actual real-world usage.
• Remote Diagnostics – By utilizing connected technology, Volvo Trucks can remotely diagnose whether a truck needs to be scheduled for maintenance or a repair.
• “Customers who opt-in to the Volvo Blue service contract experience greater truck uptime than they’ve had before by reducing the number of oil changes and breakdowns with Volvo Trucks’ optimized service plan,” said Mike Furst, director, contract services & leasing technology solutions, Volvo Trucks North America.

• The new video-based microlearning content has been created in collaboration with industry experts.
• Dr. Kane is a mental health counselor, author and speaker specializing in trauma, mood disorders, and mental health services for adults and teens.
• "By using these videos and other content in Tyfoom's library of more than 750 microlearning videos, it is easy for organizations to jumpstart employee training."
• The Tyfoom platform also allows organizations to quickly create and upload their own video-based microlearning content.

• The Center has previously estimated that illegal immigrants hold a significant share of construction jobs.
• In 2021, immigrants (legal and illegal) were 29 percent of all construction workers, but only 17 percent of the total labor force.
• Native-born African-Americans were 10 percent of the total labor force in 2021, but only 5 percent of construction workers.
• Overall, Hispanics (U.S.- and foreign-born) are 37 percent of construction workers and 18 percent of the total labor force.