Avius, your mention of Fedex having pilots in HK is a bit deceptive. The significant difference is that Fedex ONLY hires US citizens, thereby making the verifiable claim that due to US law they have to have those people flying their aircraft, no matter where based. CX however has already demonstrated a prima facie case that they can and have hired US citizens where needed. Therefore, to claim that the US based Canadians are 'essential' has already been undermined, as they have US citizens ready and able to do the job. An immigration court in the US would quickly see this argument.