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TORONTO, ONTARIO – The Council of Unions representing organized Air Canada employees today announced they have chosen the Honourable Roy Romanow to be their representative on the airline’s Board of Directors.

Mr. Romanow is a former Premier of Saskatchewan and led the Royal Commission on the Future of Health Care in Canada. He is a member of the Privy Council and an Officer of the Order of Canada. Mr. Romanow is currently Senior Fellow in Public Policy at the University of Saskatchewan.

Mr. Romanow has long promoted labour representation on corporate boards and has served as a director for other private sector companies. He is currently a Director on the Board of Torstar Inc.

Mr. Romanow’s designation by the Air Canada unions is subject to the airline’s normal corporate governance procedures, including his appointment as a Director at its next Annual Meeting of Shareholders.

Labour representation on the airline’s Board was negotiated by the unions in June 2009, when Air Canada asked its employee groups for cost-neutral collective agreements and support for a revised pension payments schedule, as part of a broader business restructuring. Through these negotiations and federal mediation, the unions gained an equity stake in the company and a representative on Air Canada’s Board of Directors.

The Council of Unions is composed of the Air Canada Pilots Association (ACPA), the Canadian Airline Dispatchers Association (CALDA), the Canadian Auto Workers (CAW), the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) and the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers (IAMAW).