OTTAWA MULLS AIRLINE’S DEMAND FOR EXEMPTION

Ottawa is working “very diligently” on a request from a prospective budget airline for an exemption from Canada’s foreign-ownership rules, but can’t give a timeline on when it will make a decision, Canada’s transport minister said Tuesday. Vancouver-based Canada Jetlines Ltd. wants to launch ultra-low-cost flights to under-served Canadian cities and has a European investor lined up to help it do so. However, Canadian law currently restricts foreigners from owning more than 25 per cent of an airline, a limit that discourages invest- ors who would like some say over how the company is run, according to the law’s opponents. Jetlines CEO Jim Scott has petitioned for an exemption that would allow it to sell up to 49 per cent of the company to foreign investors. It warned in a letter to its stakeholders last week that it could lose its prospective investor if a decision isn’t made soon. “Believe me, it is very much on our plate at the moment and we are doing our due diligence on it,” Transport Minister Marc Garneau said in an interview from Montreal.