Reuters: Bankruptcy News: WRAPUP 1-Quebec could sue Air Canada, Ottawa over Aveos

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WRAPUP 1-Quebec could sue Air Canada, Ottawa over Aveos Mar 21st 2012, 16:55 Wed Mar 21, 2012 12:55pm EDT * Aveos lays off all Canadian employees, most in Montreal * Quebec says 1988 law guarantees work for Montreal * Air Canada implements contingency plan to service planes March 21 (Reuters) - Quebec's government said on Wednesday it was considering legal action against both Air Canada and the federal government to keep operations going at the Montreal facility that services the airline's planes. The facility was once part of Air Canada's in-house maintenance unit and is now owned by private company Aveos Fleet Performance Inc. Aveos obtained bankruptcy protection on Monday and on Tuesday it ceased Canadian operations and laid off all of its Canadian employees. It had about 2,600 employees across the country, including 1,700 workers in Montreal. "We will do all, all, all we can to keep the operations open, to see how we can help the workers and the company," Quebec Premier Jean Charest told the province's legislature. "We will examine all the options available, including the possibility of taking legal action against the federal government." The law that has governed Air Canada's operations since its 1988 privatization requires it to "maintain operational and overhaul centres" in Montreal as well as Winnipeg, Manitoba, and Mississauga, Ontario. Air Canada said late on Tuesday that it would send planes scheduled for maintenance this week to an alternative service provider, Premier Aviation, in Trois-Rivières, Quebec, as part of a contingency plan. The airline, Canada's biggest, said it will ensure that all of its planes are properly maintained, including three aircraft currently at Aveos facilities. "We are confident the plan will avoid disruption to our customers," it said. Sam Hamad, Quebec's economic development minister, told the Quebec legislature he had met with representatives of both Aveos and Air Canada on Tuesday and asked what the government could do to keep the plant open. "We will not stop there. Together with the minister of justice, the attorney-general and the legal team, we are looking at all the options that exist for legal recourse against Air Canada to put pressure on Air Canada as quickly as possible," he told legislators. Hamad also said he had had talks with the government in the province of Manitoba, home to Aveos's Winnipeg facility. Aveos workers demonstrated outside the Air Canada and Aveos headquarters in Montreal on Tuesday. Some protesters threw eggs, rocks, wooden planks and Christmas lights at cars headed toward the airline's facility. A spokeswoman for Denis Lebel, the federal transport minister, had no immediate comment. On Monday spokeswoman Genevieve Sicard expressed sympathy with workers affected by Aveos's decision, while noting Aveos's "decisions are that of a private company." Link this Share this Digg this Email Reprints

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