This issue is always controversial. What's fair, and what's not?

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Thursday December 13

Canadian Tribunal Rules Obesity Isn't a Disability
TORONTO (Reuters) - Obese Canadians cannot claim to be disabled because of their weight alone but airlines should consider offering extra seats to the obese, the Canadian Transportation Agency has ruled.

Linda McKay-Panos, a University of Calgary law professor, lodged a complaint against Air Canada for allegedly doing little to accommodate her obesity during a 1997 flight from Calgary to Ottawa.

``I could barely force myself into the seat. I was practically in tears,'' she said in a written complaint against Canada's largest airline. The 44-year-old professor suffers from Stein-Leventhal syndrome, an ovarian disease that causes obesity.

The Canadian agency heard more than a week's worth of evidence before ruling on Wednesday that obesity, as a general case, is not a disability under the Canada Transportation Act.

``No evidence was presented which would support the conclusion that obese persons necessarily experience participation restrictions in the context of the federal transportation network,'' the agency said.

The agency did say extra seats or reduced fares should be considered on an individual basis for obese passengers. Air Canada charges obese customers half the regular fare for a second seat.

http://dailynews.yahoo.com/h/nm/200...tribunal_1.html