Latest news with #SDR
Vancouver Sun
3 hours ago
- Vancouver Sun
Do airlines owe you compensation for turbulence-induced damages? Here's what we found out
This month, two passengers who claimed there should be no upper limit on the amount of compensation Air Canada owes to injured passengers lost their case in an Australian court. The case stems from a July 2019 Air Canada flight from Vancouver to Sydney, Australia. The Canadian Press reported at the time that the flight hit severe turbulence and was forced to divert to Hawaii. Thirty people were sent to hospital, nine in serious condition, some suffering lacerations and injuries to their head, back and neck, emergency first responders in Hawaii said. Start your day with a roundup of B.C.-focused news and opinion. By signing up you consent to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc. A welcome email is on its way. If you don't see it, please check your junk folder. The next issue of Sunrise will soon be in your inbox. Please try again Interested in more newsletters? Browse here. Mother and daughter Renae and Stephanie Evans claimed they suffered spinal and psychological injuries during the flight. They also claimed that Air Canada, in its general rules, waived an upper limit set by an international treaty called the Montreal Convention. The New South Wales Supreme Court initially ruled in favour of the passengers, a decision which was overturned by that state's Court of Appeal. The High Court then unanimously dismissed the passengers' case. The Montreal Convention (or more formally the Convention for the Unification of Certain Rules for International Carriage by Air) is an international treaty that was drawn up in 1999 and came into force in 2003. It sets limits for airline liabilities for everything from lost luggage to loss of life. In the case of the latter, it said airlines were liable for up to 100,000 SDR for the bodily injury or death of a passenger. SDR or 'special drawing rights' is an economic unit that can be translated into any local currency; 100,000 SDR is worth about $192,000 Canadian. The amount is examined and may be revised every five years. As of 2024 it stands at 151,880 SDR, equivalent to $277,940 Canadian. The plaintiffs had argued that Air Canada's terms and conditions included the phrase: 'There are no financial limits in respect of death or bodily injury of passengers,' suggesting that the airline was opting out of the limit set by the Montreal Convention. However, Lawson Hennick, founding lawyer at Hennick Law in Markham, Ont., told National Post that on closer reading of the airline's regulations and the lawsuit, the high court's decision makes sense. 'Article 25 of the Montreal Convention expressly permits carriers to agree to higher or unlimited liability,' he said. 'The court acknowledged this, noting that a carrier can raise or even eliminate the threshold at which the no-negligence defence applies.' However, 'the court rejected this position, finding that Air Canada had not clearly waived its right to rely on the no-negligence defence.' Specifically, language in the Montreal Convention note that its liability rules 'supersede and prevail over any provisions of this tariff which may be inconsistent.' Meanwhile, Air Canada's own international tariff rules note that, 'except as otherwise provided herein,' the airline 'reserves all defences available.' Said Hennick: 'In the result, the passengers were unsuccessful in establishing that the carrier had waived the Article 21(2) defence for claims exceeding the maximum liability set out in the Montreal Convention.' Hennick noted that the Montreal Convention, aside from its cap on liabilities, is very open-ended when it comes to injury or loss of life while flying. 'The Montreal Convention says the carrier is liable for damages sustained in the case of death or bodily injury of a passenger upon condition only that the accident which caused the death or injury took place on board the aircraft or in the course of any of the operations of embarking or disembarking,' he said. 'So if you're injured by turbulence, that's considered onboard the aircraft, right? So I would say that would be something that could be compensable.' He added that passengers can sue beyond the limit, 'but if you want to claim it under the Montreal Convention, the benefit of that is all you have to do is prove your injuries.' 'As soon as you start claiming amounts above and beyond that, then they can start putting in defences for negligence. They can start alleging, well, the injury wasn't caused by us, it was caused by a third party, or could have been a result of pre-existing issues, or something other than that. But if you're going to be pursuing the limits under the Montreal Convention, it's a strict liability regime. You just have to show that you're injured on board the aircraft, prove the value of your injuries, and then they'll have to pay it.' One downside, he noted, is that the convention only mentions physical injuries. 'So if it's a purely psychological claim or psychiatric trauma, and you're not physically hurt … you may not be able to recover anything out of the Montreal Convention.' Our website is the place for the latest breaking news, exclusive scoops, longreads and provocative commentary. Please bookmark and sign up for our daily newsletter, Posted, here .
ITV News
6 hours ago
- Business
- ITV News
‘No doubt' UK will spend 3% of GDP on defence by mid-2030s, Healey says
Defence spending at 3% of GDP by 2034 is a firm commitment, John Healey has said. The Government has previously set out its 'ambition to reach 3% in the next parliament', after meeting its pledge to ratchet up defence spending to 2.5% of GDP by April 2027. But the Defence Secretary has promised a 'certain decade of rising defence spending', according to The Times, and said there was 'no doubt' the UK would meet its target. Mr Healey told the newspaper: 'It allows us to plan for the long term. It allows us to deal with the pressures.' The Government is looking at the roles, capabilities and reforms required by UK armed forces as part of its strategic defence review (SDR). It will explore 'deliverable and affordable' solutions 'within the resources available to defence within the trajectory of 2.5%'. When he announced the targets earlier this year, Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer said: 'In an ever more dangerous world, increasing the resilience of our country so we can protect the British people, resist future shocks and bolster British interests, is vital.' The new defence money will be found by reducing UK overseas aid from 0.5% to 0.3% of GNI (gross national income), according to the Government, a move which prompted then-international development minister Anneliese Dodds to resign. 'You have maintained that you want to continue support for Gaza, Sudan and Ukraine; for vaccination; for climate; and for rules-based systems,' she told Sir Keir. 'Yet it will be impossible to maintain these priorities given the depth of the cut.' Nato heads of government are set to meet in The Hague, in the Netherlands, next month. Addressing the alliance's parliamentary assembly in Dayton, USA this month, Nato secretary-general Mark Rutte said: 'I assume that in The Hague we will agree on a high defence spend target of, in total, 5%.' A Ministry of Defence spokesperson said: 'This Government has announced the largest sustained increase to defence spending since the end of the Cold War – 2.5% by 2027 and 3% in the next parliament when fiscal and economic conditions allow, including an extra £5 billion this financial year. 'The SDR will rightly set the vision for how that uplift will be spent, including new capabilities to put us at the leading edge of innovation in Nato, investment in our people and making defence an engine for growth across the UK – making Britain more secure at home and strong abroad.'
Telegraph
9 hours ago
- Business
- Telegraph
‘Dire' military homes to get £7bn refurb to attract more families
The Defence Secretary has vowed to fix the 'dire' state of military homes as part of a £7 billion accommodation reboot to attract more people to join the military. Under the new scheme, thousands of Armed Forces personnel and their families will benefit from more than £1.5 billion of additional funding to improve military accommodation. The latest funding for accommodation means more than £7 billion will be spent by Labour on service family accommodation and new build single living accommodation. It comes amid a recruitment and retention crisis engulfing the military, with just 72,510 full-time troops in the Army, its smallest size since the Napoleonic era. John Healey said the move, which has been announced ahead of the Strategic Defence Review (SDR) on Monday, would 'renew the nation's contract' for those who serve their country. He said: 'Our Armed Forces personnel make extraordinary sacrifices to serve our country. 'For too long, many military families have lived in sub-standard homes, but this Government is taking decisive action to fix the dire state of military accommodation and ensure that our heroes and their loved ones live in the homes they deserve. 'We are investing and acting fast to fix forces housing and renew the nation's contract with those who serve and deliver on our Plan for Change.' Review to transform defence Through the upcoming SDR, more than £1.5 billion of new investment will be put into tackling the poor state of military housing. The report will say the Ministry of Defence (MoD) should improve the overall standard of military accommodation, including prioritising sites that are in most urgent need of repair. The SDR was launched last year to show how Labour should transform defence over the next decade, with a focus on cyber, space and the future technology that will be needed to fight new wars. The MoD hopes the latest investment in housing, which will increase from this year, will help to support recruitment, retention and morale. Recent figures showed that in six years, military families lodged almost 53,000 complaints about their housing. The worst year was 2022, when 11,593 families complained about the standard of their housing. In 2023, a report into military housing by the Kerslake Commission found that Armed Forces families were living in damp, mouldy homes with faulty boilers and pests. Urgent repairs The new investment in service family housing will include urgent repairs and maintenance, from fixing unreliable boilers and leaky roofs to sorting damp and mould, alongside the development of new forces housing. This will be guided by the forthcoming defence housing strategy, which has already seen the announcement of a new consumer charter to strengthen housing standards for military families. The delivery of the Government's new consumer charter will see immediate investment in urgent renovation of 1,000 homes most in need of repair. The charter will also see basic consumer rights rapidly introduced for military families, including essential property information and higher move-in standards, more reliable repairs, a named housing officer for every family, and access to a robust complaints system. It comes after the Government's deal earlier this year to bring back 36,000 military homes into public ownership, as part of the Prime Minister's pledge to deliver homes fit for heroes. Spending commitment Defence spending at 3 per cent of GDP by 2034 is a firm commitment, Mr Healey has said. The Government has previously set out its 'ambition to reach 3 per cent in the next parliament', after meeting its pledge to ratchet up defence spending to 2.5 per cent of GDP by April 2027. But the Defence Secretary has promised a 'certain decade of rising defence spending', according to The Times, and said there was 'no doubt' the UK would meet its target. Mr Healey told the newspaper: 'It allows us to plan for the long term. It allows us to deal with the pressures.' The Government is looking at the roles, capabilities and reforms required by the Armed Forces as part of its SDR. It will explore 'deliverable and affordable' solutions 'within the resources available to defence within the trajectory of 2.5 per cent'. When Sir Keir Starmer announced the targets earlier this year he said: 'In an ever more dangerous world, increasing the resilience of our country so we can protect the British people, resist future shocks and bolster British interests, is vital.' The new defence money will be found by reducing UK overseas aid from 0.5 per cent to 0.3 per cent of gross national income, according to the Government.
South Wales Guardian
12 hours ago
- Business
- South Wales Guardian
‘No doubt' UK will spend 3% of GDP on defence by mid-2030s, Healey says
The Government has previously set out its 'ambition to reach 3% in the next parliament', after meeting its pledge to ratchet up defence spending to 2.5% of GDP by April 2027. But the Defence Secretary has promised a 'certain decade of rising defence spending', according to The Times, and said there was 'no doubt' the UK would meet its target. Mr Healey told the newspaper: 'It allows us to plan for the long term. It allows us to deal with the pressures.' The Government is looking at the roles, capabilities and reforms required by UK armed forces as part of its strategic defence review (SDR). It will explore 'deliverable and affordable' solutions 'within the resources available to defence within the trajectory of 2.5%'. When he announced the targets earlier this year, Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer said: 'In an ever more dangerous world, increasing the resilience of our country so we can protect the British people, resist future shocks and bolster British interests, is vital.' The new defence money will be found by reducing UK overseas aid from 0.5% to 0.3% of GNI (gross national income), according to the Government, a move which prompted then-international development minister Anneliese Dodds to resign. 'You have maintained that you want to continue support for Gaza, Sudan and Ukraine; for vaccination; for climate; and for rules-based systems,' she told Sir Keir. 'Yet it will be impossible to maintain these priorities given the depth of the cut.' Nato heads of government are set to meet in The Hague, in the Netherlands, next month. Addressing the alliance's parliamentary assembly in Dayton, USA this month, Nato secretary-general Mark Rutte said: 'I assume that in The Hague we will agree on a high defence spend target of, in total, 5%.' A Ministry of Defence spokesperson said: 'This Government has announced the largest sustained increase to defence spending since the end of the Cold War – 2.5% by 2027 and 3% in the next parliament when fiscal and economic conditions allow, including an extra £5 billion this financial year. 'The SDR will rightly set the vision for how that uplift will be spent, including new capabilities to put us at the leading edge of innovation in Nato, investment in our people and making defence an engine for growth across the UK – making Britain more secure at home and strong abroad.'
Belfast Telegraph
15 hours ago
- Business
- Belfast Telegraph
‘No doubt' UK will spend 3% of GDP on defence by mid-2030s, Healey says
The Government has previously set out its 'ambition to reach 3% in the next parliament', after meeting its pledge to ratchet up defence spending to 2.5% of GDP by April 2027. But the Defence Secretary has promised a 'certain decade of rising defence spending', according to The Times, and said there was 'no doubt' the UK would meet its target. Mr Healey told the newspaper: 'It allows us to plan for the long term. It allows us to deal with the pressures.' The Government is looking at the roles, capabilities and reforms required by UK armed forces as part of its strategic defence review (SDR). It will explore 'deliverable and affordable' solutions 'within the resources available to defence within the trajectory of 2.5%'. When he announced the targets earlier this year, Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer said: 'In an ever more dangerous world, increasing the resilience of our country so we can protect the British people, resist future shocks and bolster British interests, is vital.' The new defence money will be found by reducing UK overseas aid from 0.5% to 0.3% of GNI (gross national income), according to the Government, a move which prompted then-international development minister Anneliese Dodds to resign. 'You have maintained that you want to continue support for Gaza, Sudan and Ukraine; for vaccination; for climate; and for rules-based systems,' she told Sir Keir. 'Yet it will be impossible to maintain these priorities given the depth of the cut.' Nato heads of government are set to meet in The Hague, in the Netherlands, next month. Addressing the alliance's parliamentary assembly in Dayton, USA this month, Nato secretary-general Mark Rutte said: 'I assume that in The Hague we will agree on a high defence spend target of, in total, 5%.' A Ministry of Defence spokesperson said: 'This Government has announced the largest sustained increase to defence spending since the end of the Cold War – 2.5% by 2027 and 3% in the next parliament when fiscal and economic conditions allow, including an extra £5 billion this financial year. 'The SDR will rightly set the vision for how that uplift will be spent, including new capabilities to put us at the leading edge of innovation in Nato, investment in our people and making defence an engine for growth across the UK – making Britain more secure at home and strong abroad.'
