Transport committee  I would like to add one point that we have to be aware of. When we read Air Canada's financial statements, we see that it is making profits. Mr. Chartrand mentioned that a few minutes ago. The problem is that Air Canada comes and tells you that it wants to do even more to satisfy its shareholders.

Transport committee  If I may, I am going to say that we can engage in this kind of debate, which is good for the gallery, but the real reason we are here is to say that the legislation guaranteed jobs in Canada, and to sound the alarm because 2,600 of our jobs have been exported outside the country.

Transport committee  I have one failing in my life: I am a lawyer by training. When an enactment says "may", it means something may be done, and it may also not be done. It means that Air Canada is given complete discretion as to whether or not to preserve the jobs. When I saw the fancy footwork and the answers I heard from the two Air Canada representatives, I was not reassured, particularly because the legislation was clear: Air Canada had to keep maintenance services in the three large Canadian cities and it failed to do so.

Transport committee  We represent employees, not shareholders of the companies. In Canada, before privatization, this public carrier guaranteed jobs for Canadian workers. The government decided to agree to the privatization of Air Canada on certain conditions, including that aircraft maintenance be kept in three large cities in the country in order to preserve jobs.

Transport committee  It is important to know that over the last ten years, Air Canada has already asked its employees twice to make sacrifices. It has sought protection under the Companies' Creditors Arrangement Act. The workers made sacrifices when the pension plans were reopened. Air Canada's subsidiaries negotiated dual wage scales.

Transport committee  I would like to add that, in 2008, during the automotive crisis, the government decided to invest $13.9 billion in General Motors. And yet General Motors is not a public enterprise. It is a private company. Why was that done? Because the government wanted to keep those jobs in Canada.

Transport committee  The same is true for us in the FTQ. We asked Mr. Garneau's office three times whether he could meet with us, either in his constituency or here in Ottawa. He has never had the time to meet with us. We stressed the importance of this industry to Quebec. Since he is a member from Quebec, himself, he should pay particular attention to this matter, especially since he made public comments at the time of the Aveos closing.

Transport committee  Thank you, Madam Chair. My name is Serge Cadieux and I am the General Secretary of the Fédération des travailleurs et travailleuses du Québec. The FTQ is a union with 600,000 members in Quebec, more than 20,000 of whom are aerospace employees. They manufacture and maintain aircraft and aircraft components, work as cabin crew members or pilots, or are employed in airports.