Transport Minister David Collenette said Thursday the federal government is still examining whether to offer a financial bailout to Canada's airlines. 
"I've said that we've got to get the facts, and if there is any assistance, we've got to make sure the taxpayers' money is justified," Collenette told reporters following Question Period. 
Earlier this week, Air Canada CEO Robert Milton said his company needs $3 billion to $4 billion to help it survive because last week's terrorist attacks have hobbled the airline and left travellers nervous about flying. 
On Thursday, Milton told a Montreal radio station that ticket sales at the airline are off 60 per cent since the attacks. 
Collenette said the federal government is looking at the economic impact of the terror attacks not just on Air Canada, but on the airline industry as a whole, including the country's other carriers and its airports. 
"Air Canada is not alone in this predicament. I believe that Air Canada will get over this. The question is how, in what way and what shape or form Air Canada will continue," Collenette said. 
There is also the question of whether economic help should be extended to other sectors affected by the fallout from the attacks. 
"As I said yesterday, where does it stop? If we assist one industry, what do we do for other industries?" Collenette said. 
He was due to meet Thursday afternoon with the Air Transport Association of Canada, which represents the country's commercial airlines. 
Air Canada has already cut its transborder schedule by 20 per cent, and layoffs appear likely. 
Canada 3000 president Angus Kinnear said Wednesday his airline too wants financial support from the federal government. 
"If the passenger loads continue to erode, if public confidence isn't restored, I don't think there will be an airline in existence if we don't take a broad view of what the short term is and what the long term is," Kinnear said Wednesday. 
However, one Canadian airline said Air Canada shouldn't get a big bailout of taxpayer money. 
WestJet Airlines CEO Clive Beddoe on Wednesday said that instead of being bailed out by Ottawa, Air Canada should instead cut back its operations because the Canadian airline sector is faced with overcapacity. 
U.S. airlines have already announced thousands of layoffs and cuts in service since the attacks on Sept. 11. 
U.S. Transportation Secretary Norman Mineta has said the White House will propose a plan that includes $3 billion US for security improvements and $5 billion US in direct payments to airlines. 
