Marc Garneau penned a letter warning that forcibly removing people from aircraft simply because the flight is overbooked should never happen in Canada.
Garneau was responding to the case of David Dao, a 69-year old doctor who was dragged off a United Airlines flight in Chicago last Sunday after refusing to give up his seat to accommodate airline crew members.
Dao's lawyer said yesterday that his client suffered a concussion, a broken nose and lost two teeth.
Garneau's warning comes ahead of expected legislation to introduce a passengers' bill of rights.
Passenger rights advocate Gabor Lukacs says the warning from Garneau is meaningless because there is nothing the government can do if the airlines don't comply.