Transport Minister Steven MacKinnon says he will not interfere with the work of regulators after U.S. President Donald Trump threatened to decertify Canadian-built planes unless the government green-lights Gulfstream business jets.
MacKinnon says Canadian regulators have a decades-long history of co-operation with their American counterparts, and that recent talks with manufacturers have clarified "any ambiguities or misunderstandings" — though he did not elaborate further.
Last week, Trump singled out Bombardier Inc. in a threat to ground and tariff Canadian-made aircraft if Ottawa failed to certify Georgia-based Gulfstream's G700 and G800 luxury planes, marking the latest escalation of trade tensions between the two countries.
White House officials later clarified the president meant new planes, rather than the more than 5,400 Canadian-built aircraft already registered in the U.S.
The certification holdup appears to relate to a de-icing issue in Gulfstream fuel systems, with U.S. regulators granting the two jets only temporary approval on condition the company fix the problem by year's end.
U.S. Federal Aviation Administration head Bryan Bedford did not clarify whether he planned to put Trump's decertification threat into effect, telling reporters in Singapore on Monday he wanted to make sure Canada was putting "sufficient resources" toward certifying American planes.
Picture Courtesy: THE CANADIAN PRESS/Paul Chiasson
