WestJet strongly opposes the government’s proposal to issue loans to airlines amid the rising fuel costs. The government faces a choice: continue with costly and market distorting subsidies or build a sustainable future for Canadian aviation. We’ve seen where this path leads. In 2025 alone, taxpayers lost around $400 million in COVID-related airline loans that were forgiven by the federal government. With this, they have been turned into direct taxpayer subsidies to some airlines. This time is no different as it is unlikely that they can ever be repaid by the airlines that might accept them, so they will easily result in further hundreds of millions of taxpayer dollars that could have been used for other more meaningful purposes. The United States, our direct competitor, have deliberately stayed away from bailing out airlines in the spirit of fair and level playing field competition. Their airlines face the same oil prices as ours and Canada should stay away from distorting markets, both within our country and across the border to the US, especially at this sensitive time between our nations. WestJet has proven a different path is possible to be a viable competitor in the Canadian market. We do not take government loans and instead advocate for a competitive environment where airlines can succeed based on their own strength. We ask the government to abandon the cycle of corporate charity and focus on long-term stability by fixing the overdue foundational cost issues that hold our entire industry back.