Canada’s flight attendants are calling on the Trudeau government to stop stalling and provide urgently-needed support for Canada’s airline sector, and a plan for a safe return to domestic and international air travel.
“The aviation industries in other countries around the world have now received over $200 billion in aid from their governments, but not here in Canada,” said Wesley Lesosky, President of the Airline Division of the Canadian Union of Public Employees, which represents 15,000 flight attendants at nine Canadian airlines. “Canada remains the only country in the G7 without a comprehensive plan to support their airline sector through the pandemic.”
“Supporting this sector will be critical to backstopping the tens of thousands of workers who have lost their jobs due to the pandemic,” continued Lesosky. “We need to make sure there’s an industry for these workers to return to when this pandemic is over.”
The sector also needs the government to provide guidance on when it will reopen borders and allow for international travel to resume. “Protecting the health and safety of Canadians must remain the absolute priority,” said Lesosky. “But we also need to see a proactive plan from the government to help our industry get back on track. We want a dialogue with the government to ensure we don’t miss another year and leave thousands more workers out of a job.”