Office of the Historian

711.4227/9–149

The Canadian Embassy to the Department of State 1

Aide-Mémoire

It is almost three months since the new Bilateral Air Agreement between the United States and Canada2 was signed and came into effect. During that time three United States carriers have enjoyed one of the most important of the new rights granted under the Agreement, namely, a traffic stop at Gander. At the same time Canadian air lines have not yet been permitted to make use of all of the new rights granted to them under the same agreement.

This is clearly a situation which the Canadian Government cannot allow to continue indefinitely. It will be very difficult to explain in the Canadian Parliament why United States air lines are enjoying full traffic rights at Gander under the Agreement while Canadian air lines are not yet permitted to operate the new routes which the United States undertook to give under the same Agreement. For this reason, in the absence of effective United States action to implement the Agreement in this respect, the Canadian Government will find it necessary to review the whole position in respect to extending the traffic rights at Gander beyond September 30 when the present temporary permits expire. This situation is being drawn to the attention of the United States air lines by the Canadian Air Transport Board.

At the time of the negotiation of the Bilateral Air Agreement the use of Stephenville as an alternate international airport was also considered by the United States representatives as part of the same overall arrangement. Certain structural changes are now being completed [Page 407] at the base. However, for the reasons outlined above concerning Gander, this situation may also have to be reviewed.

Washington, September 1, 1949.
  1. Left at the Department of State by the Canadian Ambassador, Hume Wrong.↩
  2. Agreement respecting air transport services, superseding the agreement of February 17, 1945, as amended, signed at Ottawa June 4, 1949, For text, see Department of State Treaties and Other International Acts Series (TIAS) No. 1934, or 63 Stat. (pt. 3) 2489.↩