Transport Minister Defends Decision Not To Ground Boeing 737 MAX 8 Planes

Several countries have grounded the Boeing 737 MAX 8 plane after this week’s tragic crash, but that does not include Canada.

Transport Minister Marc Garneau says it is very important not to make premature decisions, and we must determine the cause before further steps are taken.

He is confident with their decision, “I would, without any hesitation, board an aircraft of that type at this particular moment of time. I understand that sometimes when something happens, it draws a great deal of attention and so it should, but flying is a very safe way to travel in this country. The statistic show that.”

Marc Garneau on why Canada hasn’t grounded aircraft model involved in Ethiopian crash: “…the Boeing 737 MAX 8 is a U.S.-certified airplane”, Transport Cda not leading investigation, “important for the cause of the accident to be known before any decisions are taken.” #cdnpoli pic.twitter.com/CMdRFhSTYa

— CPAC (@CPAC_TV) March 11, 2019

Countries that have chosen to ground the planes include Ethiopia, Singapore, China and Indonesia.

“I am confident that we are following up on this very, very carefully and with all of the priority that is necessary to ensure that we discover what the cause of the accident was. Then, I will not hesitate to take any action necessary,” Garneau says.

3/5 It is important not to make any premature decisions because there are all kinds of possible causes of the accident and we will have to first find the cause before taking any action.

— Marc Garneau (@MarcGarneau) March 11, 2019

Canada and the United States are just two who have chosen to continue letting the planes fly.

“The MAX 8 has a performance that is based on millions of hours of flying. We need to understand in the case of the Ethiopian flight before any action is taken.”

All 157 people onboard the plane were killed in this week’s crash, including 18 Canadians.

One of those killed was Peter DeMarsh of Taymouth, New Brunswick.