Corporate Canada pushes to ease air curbs

MONTREAL - A group of 27 leading executives added to calls for Canada to ease coronavirus-led air restrictions in a letter published in the country's Globe and Mail newspaper on Thursday.

The move lends support to the travel industry's push to relax air curbs as most international flights to and from Canada remain canceled.

The executives, including the CEO of the largest Canadian lender Royal Bank of Canada, asked Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and provincial premiers to "find a responsible way to co-exist with Covid-19 until there is a vaccine."

Air Canada's Chief Executive Officer Calin Rovinescu and the tourism industry group Canadian Travel & Tourism Roundtable last week urged the government to lift travel restrictions in an open letter.

The signatories from Thursday's ad included heads of Bank of Nova Scotia, Fairfax Financial Holdings, WestJet Airlines, Canadian National Railway, Rogers Communications and Enbridge.

"This includes prudently and thoughtfully opening aviation and lifting restrictions to safely resume travel throughout all provinces of Canada, as well as from select countries," the executives said in the ad.

"Air travel is not only important for tourism - it is also critical for the entire Canadian economy," their message added.