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The Honourable Lisa Raitt, Minister of Transport and the Honourable Ed Fast, Minister of International Trade, have announced Canada’s successful conclusion of negotiations with Panama resulting in an expanded Air Transport Agreement.
The expanded agreement, which is being applied immediately, builds on the 2008 Canada-Panama Air Transport Agreement by allowing for increased flight frequencies between both countries, as well as greater flexibility for airlines to offer more air services using the flights of other airlines, commonly known as code-sharing.
“The Government of Canada continues to expand our international air transport relationships through the implementation of its Blue Sky Policy,” said Minister Raitt “This expanded air transport agreement with Panama is expected to facilitate travel to and from Panama to the benefit of Canadian travellers and businesses.”
“Panama is a priority market under our new Global Markets Action Plan, and this expanded air agreement will help support Canadian businesses, particularly small- and medium-sized enterprises, operating in this important emerging economy,” added Minister Fast. “This agreement, along with our free trade agreement with Panama which came into force this year, is an example of how our government is using a full range of tools to facilitate trade, remove barriers and create jobs.”
The Government of Canada’s approach to expanding its air transport relationships is consistent with Canada’s Blue Sky policy, which encourages long-term, sustainable competition and the development of new or expanded international air services. Under this policy, the Government of Canada has concluded new or expanded air transport agreements covering almost 80 countries, including:
- Open Skies-type agreements with 16 countries: Barbados, Brazil, Costa Rica, Curaçao, the Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Honduras, Iceland, Ireland, Jamaica, New Zealand, Nicaragua, Saint Maarten, South Korea, Switzerland, and Trinidad and Tobago.
- Expanded agreements with 19 countries: Algeria, China, Cuba, Egypt, Ethiopia, India, Japan, Jordan, Malaysia, Mexico, Morocco, Pakistan, Panama, Peru, the Philippines, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, South Africa and Turkey.
- First-time agreements with 18 countries: Bahrain, Bangladesh, Burkina Faso, Colombia, Croatia, Ecuador, the Gambia, Kenya, Kuwait, Macedonia, Paraguay, Qatar, Rwanda, Senegal, Serbia, Sierra Leone, Tunisia and Uruguay.
- A comprehensive air transport agreement between Canada and 28 of the European Union’s member states (includes Ireland and Croatia).
Additional and up-to-date information on the Blue Sky policy and its implementation can be found at: www.tc.gc.ca/bluesky.
