Canada sees no reason to ground Boeing 737 MAX 8, ready to act if need be

Canada has no plans to ground Boeing Co 737 MAX 8 aircraft but is ready to “act immediately” to suspend flights if new information emerges indicating there is a problem, Transport Minister Marc Garneau said Tuesday. His comments come as a growing number of nations suspended operations of the plane after a crash in Ethiopia that killed 157 people, just five months after a deadly crash in Indonesia involving the same model. Garneau said Canada had not received any new information concerning the Ethiopian crash that would prompt it to ground Boeing 737 MAX 8 planes but that all options were on the table. “If we received information or explanations that indicate that there’s a problem ... certainly we’ll act immediately,” he said. “I asked my team to evaluate all available options, which includes possibly temporarily grounding some planes - the MAX 8 planes - so we’re ready to do so, if we decide to do so.” Garneau said later on Twitter he had cancelled all his meetings and public events for Tuesday so he could consult with a panel of civil aviation experts. Canada’s two main airlines - Air Canada and WestJet Airlines - operate a total of 37 737 MAX 8 planes.<br/>