Ottawa allows Air Canada greater flexibility of where it maintains aircraft

The opposition New Democrats are furious over legislation introduced in Ottawa today to allow Air Canada greater flexibility in where it maintains its aircraft.

• Air Canada to help create 150 maintenance jobs in Manitoba

The 1988 Air Canada Public Participation Act, as it stands, dictates where in Quebec, Manitoba and Ontario the airline has to maintain its planes.

The amendments introduced by Transport Minister Marc Garneau will ease those restrictions, retroactively, giving Air Canada more flexibility over where the work is done.

Quebec had launched a lawsuit against Air Canada for not doing enough maintenance in the province.

But the case was dropped last month after the airline agreed to buy jets from Montreal-based Bombardier and service them in Quebec for 20 years.

Manitoba had also taken Air Canada to court, but the airline has reached a settlement with that province as well.

Garneau says the original act was outdated and allows Air Canada to compete in a global market.

But NDP Leader Tom Mulcair says it's outrageous in a modern democracy that a big corporation can convince a government to allow it to forego its obligations.