Canadian Para athletes not immune to hazards of travel, where damaged equipment can cost shot at a medal

Some Canadian Para athletes as well as the Canadian Paralympic Committee (CPC) are calling for better transportation of athletes to and from international competitions.

It comes in the wake of a number of athlete's complaints of broken or damaged equipment, as well as recent flight delays carrying Canadians to the Parapan Am Games in Chile last month.

Those delays prompted a meeting with CPC CEO Karen O'Neill and a representative of Air Canada, which has been one of the organization's sponsors since 2007. 

But for Alison Levine, who won two gold medals in boccia in Chile and is scheduled to compete at the Paris Paralympics next summer, the prospect of transportation leaves her with stress and anxiety ahead of every trip.

The 34-year-old from Montreal says she's had her equipment broken or damaged during flights a number of times, most recently in September when she went to pick up her motorized wheelchair. She says two of the batteries had been removed, leaving one dragging from its compartment, despite her filling out various forms requesting they not be touched because it can hinder operation.

"It is a gut-wrenching feeling every time I part ways with my wheelchair as I'm being transferred onto the plane," said Levine, who has a motorized wheelchair for everyday use and another for competition. Each is worth about $30,000 and an incident eight years ago required $8,000 from Air Canada to repair the damage. "I'm handing over a piece of equipment that is equivalent to my body, and as much as I prepare it to minimize the risks, it is completely out of my control."

Austin Smeenk, a national team wheelchair racer for the past 10 years, has missed valuable training and competitions due to the airline leaving behind his equipment.

"My equipment didn't show up to the Tokyo Paralympics for our entire staging camp. It was our final training and preparation and I had no equipment that entire time. It wasn't until we moved into the village I received my equipment," he said. "The reality is you don't get to compete if your stuff doesn't arrive."

Smeenk then had to miss the 2022 national trials in Langley, B.C., because his racing chair and box carrying his wheels and tools never arrived. 

"It's definitely part of the sport. It's almost an annual occurrence that my stuff is lost or left behind," Smeenk said. 

The issue isn't unique to Air Canada. In a CBC report last month, data shared by the Canadian Transport Authority revealed that during the 2022-23 period, the authority received 197 complaints about accessibility on flights, including 54 about mobility aids, and 46 related to assistance issues. 

A total of 975 complaints about accessibility have been filed with the agency since 2018.

On Nov. 12 and Nov. 13, two outbound flights from Toronto carrying Canadian athletes to the Parapan Am Games were delayed up to four hours as crews loaded the equipment. 

Air Canada told CBC in a written statement that because the planes were regularly scheduled commercial flights with large passenger lists, as opposed to a charter, delays were more likely. 

"It was not good because we're always thinking about the athlete's health and safety and performance and the impact of that," O'Neill said. "Air Canada's senior representative on the ground came to the hotel to meet us and connected with our team to look at what happened, which was basically not having enough space and capacity to put all the equipment on the plane."

Air Canada told CBC Sports in a statement it's very proud to be a sponsor of the CPC and that when possible the airline tries to provide charter flights to events for the athletes. 

"We took this as an opportunity to uphold our commitment to do better every day, and immediately regrouped to plan for the return flights, with successful results," Air Canada said in the statement. 

"The experience and the feedback gathered from this is valuable as we prepare to transport the Canadian Paralympic team once again to the Paris Paralympic Games this coming summer."

Kady Dandeneau of Canada's women's wheelchair basketball team says she checks her wheelchair at the gate now because there's less chance of it being broken or left behind. 

"I've had a small crack in my frame that had to be welded and a broken push rim that required me to get a new one. I've also had a side guard broken off after a flight that needed to be welded back on," Dandeneau said. "I've also had my chair left out in the rain multiple times while they're loading the aircraft and have had my caster bearings rust out as well as some bolts start rusting, and getting my chair back with the upholstery completely soaked."

Launching point to improve services

Erica Gavel is the chair of the Canadian Paralympic Athletes' Council who competed at the 2016 Paralympics in Rio with the Canadian wheelchair basketball team. 

"While the support and services of Air Canada have been exceptional and greatly appreciated, an area for all airlines to improve is accessibility and transport of equipment," Gavel said.  

Gavel says this conversation can be a launching point to improve services across the board, not just for athletes but every person living with a disability. 

"Moving forward, we hope that airlines continue to work directly with national Paralympic committees," she said. "Not only is this an opportunity to improve services and support on the journey to the Paralympic Games, it's a chance to positively impact the society at large."