Should the government offer loans to the airlines industry? – Castanet.net

Photo: The Canadian Press

Unifor President Jerry Dias takes a question from a journalist after announcing a three-year labour agreement with the Ford Motor Company at a news conference in Toronto on Tuesday, September 22, 2020.

Labour leaders are calling on Ottawa to provide immediate financial aid and rapid viral testing to an airline industry devastated by the COVID-19 pandemic.

The heads of two pilots’ unions and Unifor asked the federal government on Thursday to offer carriers loans totalling $7 billion at a one per cent interest rate.

The 10-year credit plan being requested includes loan guarantees and direct financial aid, but no grants and aligns with the support extended by other countries, they said.

The unions also asked Ottawa to back approval and deployment of rapid COVID-19 tests for passengers as a step toward easing travel restrictions and quarantine rules.

“The COVID-19 pandemic has created a crisis in Canada’s aviation industry unlike anything seen before, and recovery may be years away,” Tim Perry, head of the Air Line Pilots Association’s Canadian branch, said at a news conference in Toronto.

“Make no mistake, decimating this industry today will impede the recovery for Canadians tomorrow and beyond,” said Robert Giguere, head of the Air Canada Pilots Association.

Labour groups differed on the best approach to a bailout.

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