How many airlines have disappeared since the present government came to power in 1993 Answer: Eight. (Greyound, VistaJet, Royal, Roots, Canadian Airlines, Quebecair, InterCanadien, and Canada 3000). Can you name the Transport Minister that has presided over the demise of Canada's commercial aviation industry Answer: David Collenette.

When confronted about the turmoil in the domestic airline industry and what if anything Ottawa would do - one of Mr. Collenette's press folk tellingly said, "there's no plan at this time." No kidding. As a result of poor government policy - one that focused on bailing out airlines instead of restructuring the industry - Canadian consumers (read: taxpayers) have been subjected to pay above-market prices in a very monopolistic environment. Memo to Mr. Collenette: monopoly is bad, competition is good.

Since September 11th, thousands of jobs have been lost and airline revenues have plummeted prompting calls from several quarters for a government bailout of Air Canada and other (the few that are left) domestic carriers. In fairness, Ottawa has done the right thing in saying no to these demands and Air Canada CEO, Robert Milton, and his $3 billion ransom demand.
The global airline industry was in serious trouble before September 11th, so many of the layoffs and route cuts that would have happened anyways, have just been accelerated. Instead of transpiring over months or years, these decisions have transpired in a short span of weeks.

Taxpayers have already done more than their fair share. In late-September, after the global insurance companies withdrew war and terrorism coverage for the airlines, our government, like others, stepped in to indemnify Canadian carriers for this coverage. And in early October, taxpayers stepped in with $160 million ($100 million to Air Canada alone) "to compensate Canadian air carriers and specialty air operators for losses resulting from the closure of Canada's airspace" following the 9-11 terrorist attacks in the U.S.

While this decision set a dangerous precedent for other affected industries (trucking, travel agents, couriers, hotel operators, etc.) that may still may wish to lay claim to the public purse under the guise of compensation, it should represent the end of direct taxpayer assistance to our airlines.

However, Ottawa can and must act - in the realm of policy. Lifting foreign ownership restrictions along with the single-share ownership restrictions (above the current 15%) to make Air Canada more attractive for private sector cash infusions would be a positive step. As long as Ottawa has a so-called Competition Act, Air Canada's predatory pricing practices and the launch of its discount carrier Tango should be put under the microscope, as competitors WestJet and Air Transat have asked.

As well Ottawa should consider plowing its $250 million cash haul it receives n lease payments from airport authorities back into the aviation system. In the longer run, opening up our skies to U.S. carriers and cabotage (if reciprocal access can be negotiated) should also be part of a restructuring solution. (Note: This is a longer run priority as American carriers wouldn't enter our market now given their woes and the low value of the Canadian peso.)

So where has the collapse of eight airlines left us Consider this, flights from Toronto to Sao Paulo are going for $890, to Hong Kong for $1,100, but to get from Ottawa to Halifax, a cool $1,150. Until we get real competition in this country, Mr. Milton and crew should be mindful that airplane seats are perishable commodities like hotel rooms and bananas: if not consumed, you can't get them back. So instead of trying to force taxpayers to pay billions of dollars for its woes, Air Canada might try to voluntarily extract it through better domestic fares instead. As for Ottawa, sadly, we already have their answer - "there's no plan at this time."