Ottawa, ON – Stephanie Kusie, Conservative Shadow Minister for Transport, and the Hon. Steven Blaney, Conservative Member of Parliament for Bellechasse—Les Etchemins—Lévis, released the following statement regarding the government’s financial package for Air Canada:

“Yesterday, the Trudeau government announced a deal with one airline, while ignoring the thousands of workers who have already lost their jobs in the aviation sector due to the Liberal government’s inaction over the past year.

“For months, the Trudeau Liberals have been promising those who work in the aviation sector help is on the way. This agreement comes far too late for far too many of those who held out hope that the Liberals would provide support through the darkest days of the pandemic. It does nothing to restore the homes that were lost, the abandoned communities, and the families that are broken.

“The package announced by the Trudeau Liberals is far from the comprehensive relief program the Canadian airline sector needs to restore service in all regions of the country, and does nothing to ensure the sector is healthy and competitive as we recover from the pandemic.

“Not only does this package neglect the thousands of laid off workers at Canada’s other airlines, but there were no new support for airports, our air traffic controllers or travel advisors with commissions at other airlines. This piecemeal approach to supporting the sector is only going to slow down recovery and result in many invaluable aviation workers getting left behind.

“The Liberals have also yet again refused to provide certainty and relief to the thousands of Canadians who are owed refunds for flights that the airlines cancelled. Canada’s Conservatives call on the government to enact strong protections requiring any airline flying to or within Canada to provide a prompt refund when it cancels a flight.

“Canada’s Conservatives are focused on securing the jobs of all Canadians who work in the aviation industry. We know there is much more work that needs to be done. We will continue to encourage the Liberal government to provide support that helps all those who work in the aviation sector, and in all regions of the country.”