Yes, I'll answer that, if I may.
We represent approximately 200 pilots, past and present, some retired, some still at the airline facing retirement. I would rather suspect there's a considerably larger percentage of the airline that's anxiously watching our progress and they don't feel inclined to put their head over the parapet and have it shot off when it will be settled long before they get to that position.
I am actually back to work now. Because of the delay in my reinstatement, I'm flying as a first officer because I'm now over the age of 65. I was a captain for 23 years prior to that.
I've run into very little adverse reaction from the crews I've been flying with, and it's been almost 100% positive, with a great many showing support who aren't on our list. It's interesting to see there's probably a considerably larger percentage than we represent on paper that support us.
There are approximately 3,000 pilots at Air Canada. As you are probably aware, complaints through the Canadian Human Rights Commission cannot be filed until the alleged discrimination has occurred, so it's impossible to file a complaint prior to retirement. At that point, you're no longer a member of the pilots association, so you're not represented by them. We are in fact actively opposed by them, which made the whole process extremely difficult.
Worldwide, the pilot profession is well over 65 now in mandatory retirement ages. Many have done away with it altogether. Australia and New Zealand were probably some of the first. Canada has had no age limits on airline pilots for almost 26 years. The position of Transport Canada is that it's far better served by individual assessments rather than blanket age restrictions, and they refuse to apply these age restrictions from the international body within Canada.