But in your opening statement you mentioned that an important aspect of safety is the ability to ensure that in a crash landing all passengers can be safely evacuated. I don't imagine that the sample size of crash landings could be that great from around the world at different times over the last number of years, yet we have a real-life example from Canada itself. It was only a year ago that we had a crash landing, and the number of flight attendants on that flight was, oddly enough, much higher than the required ratio. Everyone got off without serious injury.
What is the rush? Why does the department have to go ahead now? Why can't they wait for the Transportation Safety Board report? How much money does an airline save by having one less flight attendant on a flight? Is this a crucial economic issue for the industry? Why can't we be cautious? Why can't we, especially in light of contradictory evidence, hold off for a year or two, or however long it takes for the Transportation Safety Board to issue its report?
So what is the rush? I just don't get it.