Canada Should Have Open Skies For Atlantic Canada

Hundreds of planes fly over Atlantic Canada each day. Number of jobs that generates? Pretty close to zero (there is some air traffic control). Why not let these airlines stopover in Atlantic Canada? By allowing them to use Atlantic Canada as a stopover, they would create ground support jobs and dramatically increase the number of international destinations reachable from places like St. John's, Halifax and even Moncton.

Even better, by allowing these airlines to use Atlantic Canada as a hub to service the US and Canada, we would not only create Atlantic Canada jobs, but potentially also increase demand for Bombardier planes, creating jobs in Montreal, Mirabel and Toronto.

The idea isn't fool proof. Nothing would stop airlines from buying Brazilian Embraer regional jets, for example. And Air Canada would most likely loose some passengers to foreign carriers, particularly on lucrative international routes.

And there is also the risk that airlines would continue to fly over Atlantic Canada, without stopping.

If open skies works for Atlantic Canada, we could also allow it in Northern Canada, Saskatchewan and Alberta.

It would be fundamentally unfair to Canadian airlines, as it would not increase their access to foreign markets. However, if it is better for Canadians...