Transport committee  I believe it would be political suicide for the Liberals to give money to Air Canada and others that still owe their customers money. There's no question that this would have to be a part of the deal, in my opinion, because there would be screams from customers, and understandably so, if Air Canada were to receive billions of dollars and not repay.

Transport committee  I covered it. Look, I know Air Canada just borrowed $6 billion at pretty high interest rates. That's not the ticket for a long-term strategic business plan. The whole issue of executive salaries and bonuses is a subject for another day, and I could eat up the entire two hours on that alone, but you can't miss the forest because of the trees.

Transport committee  First of all, there's no question that none of that money can be used to bolster CEOs' wages. I think that would be an insult to Canadians. The whole issue of return to shareholders is not what it's about. The money should be used specifically for the industry to put people to work.

Transport committee  As the previous speakers said, it's one tool in the tool box. There's no question we have to be in a situation where the rapid testing is done on departure as well as on arrival. We have to make sure there is adequate time so that we can get decent results. Is it perfect? No. That's why, obviously, for people coming into Canada there's still going to have to be some quarantine.

Transport committee  I'm sorry. I didn't catch the question. You were going in and out.

Transport committee  Yes, absolutely. We have some basic structures in place already. I don't think implementing it would be all that difficult. It's going to require political will. Let me just talk about one other thing you have raised, if you don't mind. When I speak to people, there seems to be a preoccupation with executive compensation and the whole issue of return to shareholders: the amount of money, for example, that Air Canada had on hand when the pandemic hit.

Transport committee  Well, there's no question that it has been a moving target since October, but it's no justification for why we wouldn't put in place some of the basics as we're heading towards an element of normalcy within the industry, and we're clearly not there now. There's a variety of things we have suggested that have yet to be done, that we've said to the government.

Transport committee  I think it might have something to do with my charming personality and striking good looks. Maybe neither. It wasn't very complicated. We asked for a meeting. His office was very co-operative. We had a very lengthy discussion on the challenges of the industry. Specifically, we talked in depth about how our members were feeling, the frustration, what Canada should be doing as it relates to the industry and the concerns about the future.

Transport committee  That's a good question. I share this frustration with your constituents because for all of us on this call, the preoccupation is with safety. What we're talking about is, number one, safety comes first. You can't leave anything to chance. What are the measures that can be put into place?

Transport committee  I met with the current minister last week. I've had at least two or three discussions with former minister Garneau. I've spoken to Chrystia Freeland. I've spoken to the Prime Minister's Office. I've spoken to every bureaucrat in Ottawa. I think it's fair to say that the federal government knows our position and our frustration level.

Transport committee  First of all, we have more members who are not working than who are working. The concern is about the financial situation today. Some of our members who are furloughed are receiving nothing. However, the bigger issue is what will happen when we come through the pandemic. What happens if we don't have a strong industry?

Transport committee  Thank you. My initial comments will be to the committee. So far, you've listened today to the heads of the largest public and private sector unions in this country. As you can tell, we're frustrated, we're disappointed and, frankly, we're completely pissed off over the lack of action from the government on this important file.

Industry committee  Yes. Yes, they are.

Industry committee  Thank you.

Industry committee  I see a difference between the CERB and the pandemic pay. There's no question in my mind that one of the reasons that employers gave the two bucks was the potential of the CERB. However, I agree with the CERB. There are some pieces of it that I think need to be fixed, but a lot of low-wage earners who work in restaurants, a lot of the most vulnerable in our society, need it to get through the pandemic, so I don't second-guess that decision.