Boeing jet a top issue for transport minister

Canada won’t be rushed to return 737 Max to skies, Garneau says

Transport Canada is working with other aviation regulators worldwide to co-ordinate their approval of the Boeing 737 Max returning to skies, a move seen as critical to restore travellers’ faith in the jet, Transport Minister Marc Garneau says.

While Boeing claims the troubled jet will be ready to resume commercial services in January, Garneau is offering no promises and insists Canada won’t be pressured by outside deadlines.

Garneau retained the transport portfolio this week as Prime Minister Justin Trudeau unveiled his cabinet for his second term in office.

One of the first challenges for Garneau and his department will be deciding whether Boeing has fixed the problems in its 737 Max jets, which were grounded last March after two fatal crashes, and whether to declare that the aircraft is safe to return to commercial service.

“We’re getting there,” Garneau said Thursday.

Transport Canada is part of a working group of aviation regulators, including the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration, that has been assessing Boeing’s ongoing efforts to address design problems in the 737 Max that were cited as factors in the two crashes. Those problems centre on a system meant to alleviate aerodynamic changes caused by design changes to this latest version of the Boeing 737 jet. Clearing the jet to fly once again will require Boeing to address Transport Canada’s concerns on four fronts — software and hardware fixes as well procedures and training, Garneau said.

“We’re adamant about that. This airplane will not be cleared in Canada until that happens,” he said.

He said Canada is working in tandem with regulators in the U.S., Brazil and the European Union so that approvals happen together. Air Canada, WestJet and Sunwing all have the Max jet in their fleets.

“We want to make sure that we co-ordinate the return hopefully in the world at the same time,” Garneau said.

The goal, he said, is that “at the same time that we all agree that the fix is proper, that all the procedures are proper, that the training is going to be good enough for the pilots before we all say all right, now we can allow this airplane to fly again.”

“I think that’s very important with respect to the confidence that people will have in terms of getting on this airplane again,” Garneau said.

“There’s a massive coordination effort quite apart from the validation of the fix. It’s important we co-ordinate the return in such a way that everybody feels yes, we’ve addressed the problems.”

Boeing said earlier this month that it hopes to resume deliveries of the jet to airlines in December and that they could return to service the following month. Garneau was making no promises Thursday.

“No, I can’t give you timing,” he said. “I think we have to not be pressured by a deadline of any kind. We have to make sure that this airplane, once the fix is in and we’re satisfied with it.”