Spenda & Lazlo
Having worked for both CP and AC at one time or another I think I have a little bit better insight than most partisan observers.
When the Canadian airline industry was privatized by the Mulroney Tories, AC was given no new domestic and only one new major international route to fly, that was YYZ-YMX-MAD. CP and Wardair were given access to LGA, LAX, FRA, ZRH, CDG and LHR for CP, LGW for Wardair. Air Canada was restricted from flying trans-Pacific until their shareholders (mostly tory bankers) bitched so much that they were allowed to fly to Osaka six times a week and to Hong Kong four times a week and to Seoul, Korea with daily flights.
Remember Gerry Schwartz is a bossom buddy of Liberal minister David Collinette). Now to Gerry (and the job breakers) Schwartz, his past exploits leave, even the casual observer, little doubt as to what his intentions were. Any company Gerry or for that matter Heather Reismann his wife have aquired (look at Chapters) is broken up and sold off in pieces, at a profit. The plan for CP/AC was to sell as much of the intangables as possible. Items like gates and slots at La Guardia, Hong Kong, Heathrow, Paris and Frankfurt. Valuable real estate in Calgary, Vancouver, Toronto and Montreal were also on the block. AMR/Sabre would not only have the financial, booking and airport check-in contract for Canadian but would also do the same for Air Canada eliminating the Air Canada RES III system with it's thousands of Canadian jobs. All financial activity of both airlines and not just Canadian would be conducted from Dallas. This would have dealt a double blow to Winnipeg which houses the Air Canada financial headquarters. All of the above was disclosed by the CAW (Canadian Auto Workers Union) after Air Canada had aquired Canadian. Remember CAW had endorsed the Schwartz ONEX/AMR takeover after receiving job guarantees for it's membership from ONEX/AMR.
I still believe Air Canada was the lesser of the two evils and that more jobs were saved by it's takeover than would have been the case if the ONEX/AMR bid would have been succesful. Alas, with Canada now being a benign (not so benign?) dictatorship of the liberal party for the foreseable future, I really can't see anything changing. However, like the Air Canada takeover of Canadian, a benign Liberal dictatorship is more preferable than if the extremist Reform/Alliance was in power.
Well that's the way I see it but i'm receptive to others views.