Hon. David M. Wells: Honourable senators, as you may know from my Question Period interventions over the past eight months, in April a Canadian flight crew working for Pivot Airlines was arbitrarily detained in the Dominican Republic, having discovered and reported 210 kilograms of cocaine on their aircraft during a pre-flight check.

The crew was detained, jailed with drug traffickers, received death threats and had their passports seized. A dead body was left outside their cell and they were told they would be next.

Following their release, the crew had to move from safe house to safe house. In August, video evidence came to light that showed the drugs had been loaded onto the aircraft by a third party early on the morning of departure while the crew was at their hotel.

Colleagues, after multiple interventions and continuous pressure — as you may have heard — I’m pleased to report that, after eight months, the crew has finally returned home.

Senator Wells: I was invited to welcome the crew on their arrival in Toronto late last week. I was able to meet the crew and their families and witness the emotional homecoming. While I am relieved that our Canadian crew has returned safely to Canada, I am disappointed that it has taken this long for the government to act for their rightful release. While they are back on safe soil, the emotional ordeal is not over.

As Pivot Airlines President Eric Edmondson stated, “The crew languished for months unnecessarily because of inaction of the government.” Transport Canada has committed to a full investigation of this, and I will be asking the government leader in the Senate about this in the coming months. The crew asked me to pass along their gratitude to all those who advocated on their behalf, including the Air Line Pilots Association, Canadian Union of Public Employees, or CUPE, Unifor and, of course, Pivot Airlines. The pilot, Captain Rob Di Venanzo said this was the best Christmas gift he could ever receive. Thank you, colleagues.