National Post (National Edition)
`Your inaction won't be forgotten'
Dear Prime Minister,
You may not remember me, but we spent a great deal of time together during the past election. For the first two weeks of your campaign, I was the captain on the 737 that flew you around the country. I sincerely enjoyed getting to know you during that time. We had some great conversations and shared a few good laughs between flights. I remember feeling that we were in good hands, convinced that you were the right person to lead our government. Just as you trusted me and my co-pilot to fly you from one campaign stop to another, I trusted you with the future of our country. I voted for you on Oct. 21, 2019.
The pandemic struck four months later. At your request, pilots, flight attendants and ground agents worked tirelessly and without protection to bring Canadians home safely. Almost a year into this crisis and you and your government have left us stranded. Month after month, you have chosen to disregard our cries for help, to ignore our anguish and our despair. Today, tens of thousands of aviation workers across the country are jobless, completely hopeless. We are honest citizens, highly trained hardworking people who have contributed significantly to our society and economy throughout our careers. We do not deserve to be treated like this.
Certainties are a rarity today. I don't know if I'll still have a job a month from now. I don't know if my employer will be able to survive. I don't know how many of my colleagues will have lost their homes and their retirement savings at the end of this. But I do know one thing, your inaction won't be forgotten.
Capt. Bradley Small,
Saint-Sauveur, Que.