Canada and the U.A.E in a Dispute

and in what is not a big surprise, it's Stephen Harper's fault.

Now the only reason I bring up this dispute is because the United Arab Emirates is somewhere that i would like to eventually work in. Good working conditions, nice weather and a good salary make it a solid place to work. But for me getting a visa will be an expensive process. Why? Transport Canada and the Harper government are refusing to allow Ethiad and Emirate airlines additional landing rights in Toronto.

Apparently the six a week they do is enough, and Air Canada doesn't want Emirates to expand in to Canada (I guess they don't want Canadians to know what a good airline looks like). Now I supported the Chretien government when they wouldn't grant landing rights to Garuda Indonesia, because they don't meet international safety standards (they are also banned from flying in the European Union and the United States) and Harper hasn't changed that. But with Emirates?

I've flown both Air Canada and Emirates. Emirates (based in Dubai) is among the best I have ever flown, as opposed to Air Canada where I paid for peanuts. It and Ethiad airlines (based in Abu Dhabi) meets and exceeds every safety standard in existence and both are regularly rated among the best airlines in the world.

So why refuse them landing rights? To protect Air Canada.

Now I am not always against protectionism in a domestic market. For example the Japanese or Korean governments sheltering their automobile industries UNTIL they become globally competitive and are sold abroad, didn't bother me. I don't object to Air Canada's protected status IN CANADA (though I wish I could fly Korean Air from Vancouver to Toronto), but in a global market you can't behave like that. Air Canada NEEDS cooperation with international destinations as much as they need it in Canada. Also, this spills over in to other areas. Canadians and Canadian companies will be passed over in the UAE and the GCC in general for US and European companies. While the same is true in Canada the 35 million person Canadian market is not the loss that the Arabian Gulf is to Canadian business.

Now if it was a safety issue sure, but it's not. It's because no consumer would fly Air Canada if Emirates is available at a comparable price. So instead of adhering to the principles of fair and open trade global competitiveness and the Harper government harps on about with the U.S (like that pun?) or uses to justify building oil pipelines through Indian reserves to get that black gold to China faster it shuts down a very reasonable request by the UAE transit authority for more landing rights in Canada. How much did Air Canada contribute to his re-election campaign again?