Thursday March 24, 2016
For Immediate Release
Toronto, ON – “Today the Federal Liberals have shown that they are no different than the Conservatives when it comes to preserving Canadian Jobs,” stated a dejected IAM Canadian General Vice President Dave Ritchie.
Ritchie was reacting to amendments to the Air Canada Public Participation Act, Bill C 10, filed today by Federal Transport Minister Marc Garneau. The amendments allow Air Canada to control the type and the volume of any aircraft maintenance work of its fleet in Canada.
“This move has Stephen Harper written all over it,” said Ritchie. “They announce legislation before a long weekend hoping nobody will see it, and Canadian jobs and expertise suffer as a result. The Liberals were elected because they said they would protect workers, this legislation says otherwise. We have been asking for meetings with the minister since he took office to discuss this issue and he won’t talk to us. We voted for change and this is what we got.”
Under the original 1988 Air Canada Public Participation Act, Air Canada was required to maintain aircraft heavy maintenance facilities in Winnipeg, Mississauga and Montréal. Garneau has stated the changes are needed to allow Air Canada to be flexible and competitive.
“With these amendments, there’s no requirement for Air Canada to do any of this work in Canada,” said Ritchie. “Every protection we had is gone because they will now control the type and the volume of work. We have the expertise to maintain, overhaul and repair aircraft, this legislation doesn’t even guarantee we can perform an oil change. It undermines an entire industry leaving it completely vulnerable. This is a complete sellout of Canadian aviation workers”
The IAM is the largest union in Canada’s aerospace and air transport sectors.
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For further information:
Dave Ritchie – IAM Canadian General Vice President
416-386-1789
Bill Trbovich – IAM Director of Communications
416-386-1789 Ext #6331/416-735-9765