The old Chinese proverb or curse, depending on your perspective, "may you live in interesting times" is certainly applicable to the post September 11th world. Less than 48 hours after the tragic events in the United States, the American airline industry was on the blower to the White House and Capitol Hill demanding a multi-billion dollar bailout package. Can you say opportunistic

Now, Air Canada CEO Robert Milton is seeking as much as $4 billion in taxpayer aid to cope with business interruptions and new security measures in the aftermath of the terrorist attacks. Ottawa should tread very carefully before offering up a single penny.

The airline industry is probably the most insured on the planet. Do they not have business interruption insurance It should be noted that CTF calls to Air Canada and the Air Transport Association of Canada inquiring about this have gone unanswered for three days.

If Ottawa says yes to even a small package to compensate Canadian airlines for losses while they were grounded for four days, it will set a dangerous precedent. Then the trucking companies, courier companies, hotels, travel agencies, taxi industry and a host of other industrial sectors will surely come knocking for their compensation.

Even before the World Trade Center carnage, the global airline industry was suffering. Excess capacity and high labour costs combined with the economic slowdown was impacting the bottom line. Government should not be acting to save businesses from the vagaries of the business cycle.

Air Canada is the maker of much of its financial turmoil. It has recently engaged in aggressive - some might say predatory - pricing practices vis-à-vis its competition. It still has plans to launch a discount airline, it was bleeding debt from the day it acquired Canadian Airlines and it is actually doing good business in Europe right now as travelers feel safer on non-American carriers.

To be fair, Air Canada was hamstrung by the legislation enabling its takeover of Canadian. It was restricted in its freedom to layoff excess employees and in chopping unprofitable routes. However, this neither amounts to nor substantiates the current demand for $4 billion.

As for new security measures, we still need a debate to determine how much of the cost will be borne by aviation authorities and stakeholders and how much will be grouped under public security to be borne by all taxpayers.
Which brings us to the current financial situation. In light of the new demands for increased resources in the public security (CSIS, RCMP, and Immigration) and the defence envelopes, Canada's fiscal priorities must change. These changes should be reflected in a complete Fall budget. Minister Martin's customary practice of a dog-and-pony, PowerPoint-aided, Economic Update will not suffice.

As for his caution that Canada may indeed return to a deficit given these new public security pressures, taxpayers in turn must caution the Minister, DON'T GO THERE! Sure we are in uncharted territory, but even the tragic events that have occurred are no excuse to discard eight years of progress and fiscal prudence.

If billions are needed for enhanced national and continental security efforts and to prosecute the war on terrorism, this money should be found by cutting corporate welfare, cultural spending and some of the boondoggle programs at HRDC. The government has already taken its hits for weak-kneed political leadership in the immediate aftermath of the terrrorist attacks, now is no time to backslide on the fiscal front as well.