Air Canada lost her stepdad's custom wheelchair. One advocate says it's 'not a one-off'

A Brantford, Ont. man has been stranded Chile without his custom wheelchair after his stepdaughter says Air Canada lost it.

Jim Hamilton and his wife Kathie embarked on a trip to Santiago, the Chilean capital, with Air Canada on Sunday. It's the first trip they've taken since Hamilton, 63, suffered a stroke that left him using a wheelchair in 2021.

But when they arrived, they say they were told the wheelchair hadn't made the trip with them.

Hamilton's stepdaughter, Wendy Elliott, has been trying to help them as much as possible from Toronto. She told CBC Toronto the situation has left her feeling helpless and angry.

"A wheelchair is not a piece of luggage. It's not a piece of sports equipment. It's not an accessory," she said. "He relies on it to move, for his life. It's just so unacceptable."

After searching the Santiago airport for his wheelchair — worth anywhere from $5000-$7,500, according to the family —Air Canada representatives provided Hamilton with a $300 voucher and a loaner wheelchair, said Elliott.

But Elliott says Hamilton's wife is unable to safely transfer him in and out of the replacement chair because it doesn't have the same removable arms as his own, is too low for Hamilton and one of the foot rests is broken.

The couple was told Air Canada would contact them the next morning, but two days later, Elliott said the airline has yet to reach out.

The airline told CBC Toronto in an email the wheelchair would be flown to Santiago late Tuesday evening, adding, "We fully appreciate the importance of mobility devices to their customers and have processes in place to ensure they travel safely with their owners, and we are reviewing why that did not occur in this case." 

But Hamilton's situation is far from an isolated incident, said Maayan Ziv, a disability advocate and the CEO of accessibility app AccessNow. 

"I'm unfortunately really not surprised that we're continuing to see stories and cases of people with disabilities who have had their mobility devices damaged or lost," she told CBC Toronto. 

"This is a systemic issue. It's not a one-off mistake."

Air Canada covered the cost of a new wheelchair. But the disability advocate said this was "the bare minimum" that the airline could do.

Under the Accessibility Canada Act, which includes a section on transportation, airlines are legally required to treat people with disabilities with dignity, respect, and equitable rights. The act also requires them to replace or reimburse any lost mobility devices if it is not recovered within 96 hours of arrival.