Air Canada provides the following comment in
response to Minister Collenette`s statement in the House today that the
federal government would consider removing the 15 per cent limit on Air Canada
individual share ownership as contemplated in the Air Canada Public
Participation Act:
Air Canada supports the removal of the 15 per cent limit on individual
share ownership as it would facilitate access to equity and capital markets in
the current environment post September 11.

In the same context, Air Canada supports an increase in foreign ownership
restriction from 25 per cent to 49 per cent.
“The 15 per cent rule and its predecessor 10 per cent rule were mandated
by Parliament,” said Robert Milton, President and CEO of Air Canada.
“Throughout the 1999 hostile takeover attempt, our position was that we would
support an absence of ownership restrictions if that was Parliament`s will
providing that the rules governing our ownership structure were clear to all,”
he concluded.

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