Someone was asking about this earlier, whether or not the carry-on restrictions from Canada through the U.S. (where we stop over to get to Belize) were still on, apparently they have been lifted now....
http://www.tc.gc.ca/eng/mediaroom/infosheets-menu-5811.htm

Funny, but they list these as 'new' rules, these are the same regulations as before the Xmas incident. Anyway, looks like it's back to normal folks!

The rules had not been lifted on my husband's flight from Vancouver Tuesday the 19th.

Nothing but very small purses and computer bags. NOTHING. No bags with gifts, no tote bags, no small briefcases, no cameras.

Interesting, what airline was that? On Tuesday, Jan 22, returning to Canada, I had no problems at all with my usual slightly oversize carryon suitcase, a large purse bag and a plastic bag with some stuff in it.

I think the restiction was only on flights going to or through the US from Canada. Not sure why only Canada had that restriction, maybe lack of staff to check all those carryons... It has been lifted now anyway, check Air Canada's site. Anyone know if the full body scanners are being used at Pearson yet?

The rule just changed on January 19th. Here's the press release with the date on it...http://www.tc.gc.ca/eng/mediaroom/releases-2010-h007e-5812.htm

Yes, that's for all flights passing through the U.S. from Canada (and from any other country). Hopefully this is true now as I am booked to come down there soon and I only did so as it looked like I could bring a carry on. Since they lose our luggage every time (and I mean every time), I like to pack the must-haves in a gym bag and bring it on with me.

Folks, please let us know, if you are transferring in the U.S., what your most recent experiences are. I heard it on the radio which is why I checked the website.

Heard the full body scanners were going into place, mostly out west so far though (?)

It was AA. Maybe the difference was that you were flying TO Canada , he was flying FROM Canada.

That, and the rules have been updated after your hubby was on board.

Which airline loses your luggage EVERY time? I've never had a bag lost, even one time in all my world travels, nor any of my numerous trips to BZ . . .knock on wood.

I know I've just been tremendously lucky because friends and family have had luggage late but it still shows up within a few days, delivered to the door.

Regardless, my carryon is always packed as if my bags will go missing. Worst come to worst, I could go a whole vacation just with my carryon . . perish the thought for this princess.

I"m with you Seashell, all one really needs is a carry-on, but the suitcase is usually full of towels, water toys, gifts, reading material, etc and is usually the size of a second carry-on anyway. Yes, they always find the luggage eventually and I've had them delivered to us as far as the rainforest but it takes days sometimes and when you're only away for a week or so, imagine if you were allowed no carry-on, all those precious days without important items would not be fun. I'd say Continental, American, all of the American airlines have lost at least one item of ours on each trip or those that we were traveling with, and often in both directions. Air Canada here is so bad I refuse to fly with them. We get them back eventually but the point is, without being allowed a carry-on I can't imagine the grief it would cause if we didn't have at least those important items.

I met this poor couple earlier this month who made a stop within Canada and another in the US, then Belize then back to Canada, they only saw their luggage for a total of two days in the whole two weeks they were traveling and when I was in line with them, Continental was telling them they couldn't even trace the bags. Ours, thankfully, were known to be on the next flight. And these poor people were allowed no carry-on! That's my worst nightmare....

Yeah, that's a nightmare alright!

yes its really a nightmare

Joanne who is here for 2 months regularly seems to have a bag go missing but it always turns up in a day or so - they have never lost one yet.

Happened to my cousin this time around too and sure enough bag was at Tropic the next day which was lucky as it had his new snorkel gear in it.

this is traveling out of Canada to the US, not going back US to Canada. It is a Canada regulation and has nothing to do with which airline you fly on. I could not bring anything in the laptop case except for the laptop and charger. You have to pick between a purse or laptop, not both. They asked me to check all software, books, business docs, etc. Only had laptop, IDs, and money. Really silly.

'I Do', when did you fly? You are supposed to again be able to take a carry-on along with a laptop and/or purse now, as per before, and as of January 19th.

It is silly...I heard on Talk Radio last week from a 'security consultant' that the line-ups they caused with the 'higher' security checks actually caused a far more dangerous issue, since the airports were so crowded and backlogged (you could barely move it was so jammed), we made ourselves an even easier target if someone was going for 'volume'.

We flew Jan 30th and had no problems going through security at Terminal 3. They had enough agents on duty, however they have NOT done anyting to improve their manners. You are now allowed one personal item and one carry-on as pre Dec 25th. So things are essentially back to normal.

I hear you. It boggles my mind that as a consumer, nowhere else can I pay $1200+ to be treated like crap from the ticket counter through to the plane and then some. I must say, Westjet has a completely different attitude towards their paying customers (nothing to be done about those security people throwing their weight around) so I think I will try them next time to Cancun and then Maya onwards from there.

I made a trip to the Canary Islands a while ago and never saw my luggage the whole time I was there. Too bad I had to shop for a whole new wardrobe of lovely Spanish clothes and shoes;-) Fortunately it was pre Euro and the prices were incredibly cheap.

Those full body scanners are bad news for your DNA....

Hope that doesn't happen to me if I go to Spain again! I didn't lose my luggage, but went crazy on the beautiful shoes they have over there! lol

So true verbatim... This time we used Continental and I must admit the service was good! Air Canada could take some lessons for sure! I have never met such a surley, arrogant collection of flight attendants... and when I said 'Hi' en anglais and the attendant responded en francais and continued to talk to me in French for the rest of the flight even though I spoke in English to him I decided Air Canada is the LAST airline of choice for me!
If you want to feel like a 'pain in the ass' and pay for the privelege then fly Air Canada Hmm sounds like a new motto... lol

Why don't you guys boot those Frenchies outa there? Imagine, advertising in 1 language.

Wow...

HON !

Yeah, I wish the government would stop bailing out Air Canada. Last time they lost my luggage they looked at me at the counter like I was a big pain in the butt, gave me a toothbrush and brushed me off. The number they gave me to call every day to find out if my luggage was ever found? They just took the phone off the hook, no one answered all week, I just got a constant busy signal. Two weeks later my luggage did show up and I never checked in my luggage again with them.

Continental has 'misplaced' our luggage every trip either to or from Belize, but they do find it quickly and do bring it to us fairly promptly.

We tried champion, and they became your 'Cajuns'... France didn't even want them, France chose to defend Martinique rather than New France so the Brits one. Your suggestion might be a little extreme but is also impossible due to our constitution which was brought into law under a French Canadian Prime Minister. I worked for the Ontario government and the cost of doing everything in duplicate, hiring bi-lingual staff, translations, paying for four school systems (English public and catholic and French public and catholic, 4 distinct systems) etc. is enormous but not about to change because politicians are afraid to loose votes and English Canada is afraid to insist on change for fear of being labelled as 'anti-French' and giving Quebec a reason to separate.
Ooops sorry this thread is about carry-on....

You worked for my government? I'll say it again...wow! Just for the record, Quebecois are not 'frenchies'. They are Canadians.

How come the Canadians I know from the western provinces don't like em?

Bigotry.

You don't know very many Western Canadians then, champion. While some of us may regret that we are required to be dual language, we've no personal animosity against our fellow Canadians, who happen to be Francophones. At least most of them can speak more than one language. I'd say that gives them one up on the rest of us.

You don't have to live out west to regret bilingualism and it's cost. Or even experience linguistic prejudice because you are not bilingual (as in trying to get a government job)... Most of us do not have animosity toward francophones but do not appreciate our government telling us that we now have to be bilingual to get anywhere and that we MUST pay taxes to protect the franco-ontarian culture. We don't do that for the First Nation cultures and they have a larger percentage of Ontario's population than the francophones (which is less than 5%). Not the best way to help anglophones understand and appreciate francophones.
Hon, do you live outside the GTA? Have you ever lived in northern Ontario and experienced the franco-ontarian reality? Have you been told that you cannot apply for a position because you don't speak the right language? Have you learned to speak French or are you a francophone? How much of your tax dollar goes toward promoting bilingualism? The government is always saying being bilingual is to our advantage. I have yet to see a balance sheet as to how much this costs and what money it brings to Ontario or Canada.

ONLY TWO LANGUAGES REQUIRED? In California at our medical facility we had to have pinted instructions available in 17 languages and a telephone service whereby ANY person could be connected to someone that could translate for them. Talk about costly???

These are 2 legislated official languages for the entire country where the USA has one, English. That means all government services etc must be in both languages even down to street signs although Toronto (a 'designated area')does not comply. Most of our larger hospitals, clinics etc. are multilingual as well. Does the Cal. government legislate the use of multiple languages in your health system or is it a matter of need, choice or economics?
On another note, so sorry to hear of your loss Hariette. We remember Miss Kitty stopping in on our patio to say 'Hi' on her way down your stairs and are certainly grateful she wasn't harmed as well. Keep her close. Hope they catch the creep(s).

I live in a rural community of 6,000 people in Southwestern Ontario. I have never lived in Northern Ontario but my sister, who incidentally is married to a francophone, lives in Cochrane and I have visited her for extended periods many times and have been warmly welcomed by my brother in law and his family...most of whom speak better English than I do French. I have never been told that I cannot apply for a position because I don't speak the right language...I believe there are laws against that. Have I ever not been hired for a job that required full bilingualism? Yes...and I have no problem with that. I can communicate in French and Spanish and have been known to be understood in German on very rare occasions. I am a firm believer in language diversity and both of my children were educated in French Immersion and I know their lives are richer for for it. I think my tax dollars were and are well spent in this regard. They both have had jobs (some of them quite menial in the service industry) in which their bilingualism was a major factor in the hiring process.

Obviously your Government job requires you to speak English. Do you think that it's possible that uni-lingual francophones harbour some resentment against a system that doesn't allow them to hold a position like yours? Sometimes the shoe fits very neatly on the other foot.

Hon, Ontario is an English province not bilingual. NB is our only bilingual province. The operating language of the Ontario government is English and yes my position did require me to be fluent in English. One way the government gets around language issues is to designate a position as bilingual and then test you on your fluency in French. It doesn't do this for English fluency for francophones (some from Quebec) applying for the same position. In Sudbury (30% francophone) some gov't offices are 95% francophone (not just French speaking). How is that fair? Good thing your kids are fluent because they will need it in Ontario if they want to work in gov't or any agency connected to gov't.
I am married to a franco-ontarian and have experienced both acceptance and disdain for being of English decent (mostly from her Quebecois relatives). The bigotry shoe does fit on the other foot quite well... We are still 'maudit anglais' to many "Canadien/nes" in and out of Quebec although not usually openly expressed (a hidden cultural resentment). I am happy for you that your limited connection to French Canada is a good one

To Hon & Seashell. I did not mean to start a discussion about bigotry, my statement was an off the cuff remark about those in Canada I personally know and who have made statements to me about them. I have no personal experience with these matters. I did not mean to offend you. That being said, I know it exists.
As well as the signage and packaging of products are an expense they feel is not right.

"These are 2 legislated official languages for the entire country where the USA has one, English"


The USA has NO official language.

But, the USA SHOULD have an official language and it should be English.

Hear hear, Its the one thing that keeps us a unified Nation! Period.

Thanks for the correction Bill, I didn't know that, just assumed that since your federal government operated in English only that English was the official language. Just found out that the UK does not have an official language either.

I was in Quebec some years ago when the separatists were hoping for a victory with the Meech Lake (sp?) accord (which they lost). I witnessed and experienced considerable bigotry by the vociferous Quebecoise (again, sp?). I remember being puzzled why there were no street signs in English (I was driving), and was told that it was illegal to have English signs on roads, in shops, or anywhere else. Certainly I saw French, German, Spanish, Italian, Japanese etc signs, but never one in English. You would have thought that if only because their biggest source of visitors was the USA they would for that reason alone have had signs in English, but no.

"Just found out that the UK does not have an official language either."

Well Thank you back N.C. I did not know that about the UK.
I guess it's true. You learn something new everyday if you just pay attention

Belize DOES have an official language...English

If you travel to floria and go to any airport ,like MIA. english is spoken last spanish first ..I think A shame ,my foks came here in usa. worked three jobs to feed us and learned english at the same time ..Not to high jack this post ,but give me a break .

To Phil: Yes it is illegal to have an English sign the same size or bigger than the French sign, and there must always be a French sign. The 'Language Police' cruise around looking for sign owners to fine even in English communities. Yes you would think the Quebecois would realize that if they were a little more accomodating they would attract more Americans, English Canadians and heaven forbid more Brits!!! LOL but then that is NOT what they are interested in. I haven't been to Quebec since the 70's even though my wife has family in Montreal and Gaspe. She goes but I don't feel welcome so I stay in Ontario.
To jesse: Yes as does Australia, New Zealand and many other countries.
To captjeff: Get ready for bilingualism... specially since you don't have an official language. We are now bilingual and only have 23% French in Canada (mostly all in one province). You already have 12% latin/hispanic and growing! All it takes is a lack of interest from English speakers and a drive from your Spanish speakers, maybe a Spanish speaking president or two, maybe a Spanish majority in your Congress. That's how we ended up like this. I agree with your description of MIA and noticed almost the same in Houston.

that happened about 2 pages ago

Northern Canuck, Your response to not wanting to go and visit because you don't feel welcome is exactly what I say with respect to the demise of any country. When its own inhabitants don't feel welcome they then don't feel part of that portion of the country. Then the snowball occurs. Just look to the old Soviet Bloc countries as an example.

For me part of the charm of Quebec is that even though it is part of Canada it feels like going to a whole new country. If it was anglicized it wouldn't retain that charm. The radicals who want to separate from Canada can s*** my d*** but over and over they have been beaten down and they always will be.

I spent many summers as a kid vacationing in the Laurentians in the 70's and never felt unwelcome even though at that time I couldn't speak a word of French. In later years I spent time there skiing and working from time to time in the branch offices of the company I worked for. Again, I never felt unwelcome and was always shown a good time even though my French was no better than my Spanish is now.

Quebec City and Chateau Frontenac are some of the most beautiful places I've visited throughout the world. It just wouldn't be the same if it wasn't truly Québécois. The Quebec City winter carnival is a must do in your lifetime. FYI another incredible place to visit is the Chateau Montebello.

I have also spent a lot of time in Ottawa which is about as bilingual as Canada gets and it's a fantastic place to visit any time of year.

Actually the City of Greater Sudbury has a larger per capita French population than Ottawa and is as much if not more bilingual than Ottawa. To visit a city is not quite the same as to live in one. Simon, may I ask what city/town you lived in before you left Canada? Were your kids banned from school buses that transported French kids to school? Were your kids banned from French schools because they were English even though they wanted their education in French? What about being banned from a health clinic because you didn't speak French? Were you banned from owning property in a certain area because you didn't speak French? If you lived in southern Ontario or the western provinces (and even some eastern provinces) probably not...
Quebec will only stay part of Canada as long as they feel they are getting something out of it. Why do you think the governemnts outside of Quebec are spending so much of tax payers money to appease the French community (other than to buy votes)? Why do you think Ottawa gives the provinces money to promote the French culture? What Prime Minister would want Quebec to separate under his watch? Look what Chretien paid for the defeat of the last referendum. Why is Quebec considered a 'have not' province and Ontario, Alberta and BC give them money to fund social programs that they themsleves don't have? When did you leave Canada for Belize?

(Note to the Big Kahuna: Please move this thread to the new political forum Canadian Chat )

Or just delete tha damn thing

Tending to agree with Ernie on this one.

Move it to the great board garbage dump where that other hate thread should also be interred.