I'm with INDPEN on this one. The text below with my highlighting(from the link above):
Crew members
Foreign crew members, such as truck drivers, bus drivers, shipping and airline personnel, do not need work permits when:
- they are working on vehicles of foreign ownership and registry that are engaged primarily in the international transport of cargo and passengers,
- their work is related to the operation of the vehicles or the provision of services to passengers.
My interpretation is the fact that the vehicles (planes) are owned and registered by the foreign company is what counts - not the fact that the person is onshored.
Yes, a very simplistic way of looking at it perhaps? At the very least, it should open up temporary basings to those who are not ordinarily able to reside in Canada. Is the company still giving people grief on that one?