Marc Garneau announced Wednesday that all Boeing 737 Max 8 planes, the same aircraft that crashed in Ethiopia, are banned from flying in Canada until further notice over safety concerns.The transport minister made the announcement at a much-anticipated news conference, delayed twice by what Garneau said was incoming new information, saying the decision to ground Max 8 and Max 9 planes was a precautionary move made after a review of all the available evidence.The “safety notice” means none of the aircraft can fly into, out of, or over Canada, he said.“I will not hesitate to take swift action should we discover any additional safety issues,” Garneau told reporters. Garneau said he has been in touch with Air Canada, West Jet, and Sunwing, adding that there was “no pushback” from the airlines.“They realize the importance of safety,” he said.Garneau said evidence about multiple Boeing 737 Max 8 flights suggests a worrying correlation between the Ethiopian Airlines crash and another off Indonesia in October.There was “absolutely no political pressure” from President Donald Trump and the U.S. on grounding the Boeing 737 Max 8 and 9 planes, Garneau added.The update comes after Toronto-based Sunwing Airlines announced late Tuesday that it is temporarily grounding its four Boeing 737 Max 8 aircraft in the wake of the crash in Addis Ababa that killed all 157 people on board, including 18 Canadians.Sunwing says it made the decision for “evolving commercial reasons” unrelated to safety, including airspace restrictions being imposed in other countries.Garneau is facing an escalating dilemma over the aircraft, which is being grounded or banned by a growing number of countries after the accident that some experts have said has parallels to a Lion Air crash of the same model of aircraft in Indonesia that killed 189 people last October.Read more:Advocate says forcing passengers to fly on Boeing 737 Max 8 is & ...
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