Animal Discrimination

She fits into a carrier that's no bigger than a gym bag.

She's been certified as a bona fide emotional support animal (ESA—we have the signed documents to prove it). Our kid's university didn't question the issue when they granted residency on campus.

And yet, when our daughter booked a ticket on VIA Rail to come home and mentioned that she would be bringing her ESA with her, she was told that even though the passenger rail service allows ESAs at no extra charge, she would have to pay an extra $50, each way, to have her ESA accompany her.

Why?

Because, she was told by VIA Rail, ESAs are limited to dogs only. Our kid's ESA is a cat.

Our daughter could have a full-grown St. Bernard as an ESA and there would be no problem. But a small cat in a carrier that could fit under her seat is a no-go. How is this fair?

We've cancelled the return-fare tickets. With the pandemic, thankfully, we can do so without penalty. Bringing the cat on the train almost doubles the cost of the trip.

We've crunched the numbers, accounting for the cost of fuel and stops for food. It's cheaper for us to drive to Toronto and bring our kid, with her cat, back home for reading week. Sure, there's the added cost of time and energy for the driver, but DW will drive to pick up our kid and I will drive her back to campus.

VIA Rail needs to rethink its policy and allow any animal that is deemed an ESA on their trains. Depending on the animal (which must be a certified ESA), they can stipulate the container in which the animal travels. That's fair: limit the size, not the species.

If our daughter's ESA was a Chihuahua, which is still bigger than her cat but would still fit in the carrier, she would have no problem bringing it aboard without charge. It's not the size of the animal that is the restriction. It's the species.

And that's discrimination.

We have another daughter, who also used VIA Rail to come home for her reading break. No pet, no problem. But we won't use the rail service the next time she comes home, nor in the future, until this rule changes.

Next time, if she's travelling alone, we'll put her on Porter Airlines. If both kids are coming home at the same time, she can take the GO train to Toronto and meet up with her sister, and we'll drive down to get them both.

VIA Rail has lost two customers who, over the coming years, would have been using their service many times. But their discrimination against specific animals has derailed those plans.