AIR CANADA

Like most frequent travelers, I hate our national airline. Poor interiors, frequently lost baggage, high fares, rude staff, and overall incompetence have made every flight I've taken with them a miserable experience.

The Conservative Party's proposal to scrap the Air Canada Public Participation Act probably wouldn't change much of that, but it could be a start to helping that former-state owned beast run a little more like a business:

...a Conservative government would aim to "create a competitive environment in the airline industry and leave airlines alone in their fight to attract customers."

The Conservative party has long been against the public participation act, which was passed shortly before the airline was privatized in 1988.

It subjected Air Canada to the Official Languages Act as well as obligated it to maintain its head office in Montreal and maintenance services in Montreal, Winnipeg and Mississauga, Ont.

The inane rules constricting Air Canada have probably been a major reason why the company could not take off after being privatized. It still has a state-monopoly mindset reinforced by overregulation and repeated bailouts, so even if it is a private entity it has no reason to make itself competitive.

Naturally, the Liberals are saying this again shows the Conservatives have a hidden agenda. Although they have been opposing this since 1988, so it isn't really a hidden agenda.

Just a smart one.