 | | | | This is your Marketplace Watchdog for Thursday, September 12, 2024.
By: Dexter McMillan | | |  | | | Parents outraged after girl, 14, forced off Porter Airlines flight | The parents of a 14-year-old girl say they're outraged after their daughter was removed from a Porter Airlines flight last month and left to her own devices for 24 hours — without compensation or supervision from airline staff.
Camryn Larkan was flying alone for only the second time on Aug. 30, headed home to Victoria, B.C., after visiting a friend and family in Toronto.
She boarded the plane and was sitting in her seat ready for takeoff when a flight attendant told her there was a problem, and that she needed to grab her bags and get off the aircraft.
She said she was "really confused."
"I thought I was coming back to my seat. I thought that they were just going to take my bags," Camryn said. "As soon as I got off the plane and I saw that the door had closed, that's when I started to, like, get really anxious."
Camryn said she later learned the plane took off without her and some other passengers due to a weight imbalance. She was rebooked on a flight to Victoria at the same time the next day, and the airline sent her on her way. Her dad, who had brought her to the airport in Toronto, rushed back to pick her up.
"I'm just glad that my dad was there, because if he wasn't I would have been alone," Camryn said.
Camryn's parents say they're angry that a minor travelling alone was forced to deplane with little information or support from the airline.
"They put my child in imminent danger," said Catherine Larkan, her mom. "It was completely negligent and it shouldn't happen to any other minor."
A spokesperson for Porter Airlines told CBC News the 14-year-old was removed from the plane due to a "weight and balance issue," but that its staff wasn't aware she was under the age of 18. Read more | | | | |  | | | 'Take me out of here': Family alleges neglect after 95-year-old's stay at Quebec care home | Guy Maisonneuve held back tears the day he dropped his 95-year-old mother, Aline Besner, off at a Gatineau, Que., care home on Feb. 26.
Her room on the second floor of Villa des Brises smelled like urine, staff wouldn't make eye contact and no one would help transfer Besner into bed, he says.
Located in a private facility managed by Mandala Santé, the floor is partly run by the regional health authority, the Centre intégré de santé et des services sociaux de l'Outaouais (CISSSO).
The floor is designed as a temporary residence for post-acute care and a place for those who may need rehabilitation before returning home or being transferred to a long-term placement.
"From the moment I stepped into the villa, I was filled with dread, absolute dread," said Maisonneuve, sitting at his kitchen table, steps from the room where he hoped his mother would spend her final days, at home.
But after being diagnosed with advanced dementia at the Wakefield hospital, Besner moved into the Villa des Brises transitional unit while waiting for a permanent placement at a long-term care facility.
A bad first impression soon turned into major concern for Besner's safety when Maisonneuve was told by a neighbouring resident his mom was having falls, didn't have access to drinking water, wasn't being bathed regularly and that her emergency call button would either be out of reach or go unanswered for hours.
On April 14, Besner died in a hospital bed, surrounded by her family. Quebec's coroner's office is investigating her death.
More families and former residents are coming forward, some claiming abuse and "incompetence" on the transitional floor.
The care home would not comment on specific events. Mandala Santé and the regional health authority both declined repeated requests for an interview. Read more
Marketplace has uncovered abuse in long term care homes before. You can watch those episodes anytime on Youtube or CBC Gem. | | | | |  | | | Why some Canadian insurance companies are bringing in a wildfire tactical team | When Joelle Fraser-McGaghey had to evacuate her home during the 2016 Fort McMurray wildfire, she only had a few minutes to pack before her family had to get out the door.
Trying to pull outdoor furniture away from her house was not at the top of her list.
"Honestly, I'm not thinking, should I remove that propane tank? I'm thinking, let's get my kids out of here and let's get us to safety," she said in an interview.
Insurance companies have realized homeowners aren't necessarily aware of last-minute fire prevention when they're packing up to evacuate. So a growing number are paying a U.S.-based firm to take on that responsibility.
Fraser-McGaghey's insurance provider, Economical, is one of several Canadian insurers — including Aviva, Intact and Gore Mutual — that have hired Montana-based Wildfire Defense Systems to provide "loss intervention services."
The company sends field staff into communities when a wildfire is looming to move patio furniture away from walls, clean out gutters, set up sprinklers and otherwise try to keep homes from catching fire.
"I thought, any way to prevent someone else losing their home — why not?" said Fraser-McGaghey.
The company is active across 22 U.S. states, but started working on behalf of insurers in B.C. and Alberta for the first time this year. Read more
Do you know what to do when disaster strikes? Last season, Marketplace took a look at fires, floods, and earthquakes to test if Canadians are prepared. | | | | | Marketplace needs your help! | | | | |  | | | We want to hear about your experience with family doctors! Are you having trouble finding one and turning to virtual or private care? Or maybe you're having trouble getting access to one you already have and have felt forced to turn to walk-ins or the emergency room. Write to us, marketplace@cbc.ca | | | | |  | | | Are you on the lookout for the latest in business news? You'll want to subscribe to this newsletter, too.
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