Instead of allowing, for example, Americans to haul Canadian freight, they should allow Canadian companies to do it in US registered aircraft for a transition period. It would be the same "quality" aircraft doing the work, but it would give the Canadian companies the opportunity to get launched.
As it stands, Canadian companies are always compared to their less regulated (so lower cost) cousins and so find it very hard to get their foot in the door.
I would have thought that the government would understood this, but obviously, Canadian aviation is still not "open for business".
Look at how successful the Icelandic have been in aviation. They now live under JAR, which in theory at least, is more restrictive than our regs.
Is there any reason why Canada should not be just as successful, given our aviation history, the size and location of our country, and the underemployed professionals living here?
The assertion that there are no Canadian companies who can do the work is not really true. If we were allowed to operate leased aircraft under part 129 (for maintenance etc.) of the FAA regs for a prescribed period, you can be quite sure that ACE, Cargojet, Morningstar, the new freight divisions of pax airlines, and startups would all be bidding on contracts in the marketplace.
As it stands, it is a waste of time trying to fight with our hands tied behind our backs.