Mr. Speaker, First Air, the third largest regularly scheduled air carrier in Canada and its Inuit owned parent corporation Makivik oppose the merger of Air Canada and Canadian International Airlines proposed by Onex.
The president of First Air, Bob Davis, is asking the Minister of Transport to oppose any agreement that does not guarantee specifically the interests of northern consumers and of the aviation industry in the north, the positions of First Air employees, Air Inuit and the investments of the Inuit in the compensation funds set up under the terms of the James Bay and Northern Quebec Agreement.
According to the president of Makivik, Pita Aatami, “the federal government is legally and morally bound to protect the interests of the Inuit covered by the James Bay and Northern Quebec Agreement, who might be affected by a reorganization of the aviation industry in Canada”.