Yesterday, Premier Ewart Brown announced that Marc Bean is working to close a deal to bring additional airlift from Canada. According to the Premier, Mr. Bean is leading a team that is working closely with Canadian authorities to increase arrivals from Air Canada or another Canadian carrier.

"Earlier this week, I announced that air arrivals from Canada were up 26.7% in the Third Quarter," said Premier Ewart Brown. "Considering today's economic climate, that's remarkable. Today, I'm pleased to announce that Marc Bean has been heading up a group within the Ministry of Tourism to increase our air lift from Canada. Given the recent encouraging statistics and the good news from JetBlue, I am confident that a new deal to expand air service from Canada is quite close indeed."

Premier Brown continued, "I'm incredibly impressed with Marc's work ethic, his leadership and his independence. Marc is a no nonsense kind of guy who tells it like it is. He's exactly the kind of effective, independent leader that will put the people of Southampton West Central first in the House of Assembly."

"Right now, I'm working around the clock in my constituency meeting with voters and talking to them about the issues that matter in Southampton," said Marc Bean. "I'm also leading the Bermuda team working with Canadian authorities to increase our airlift from Canada. Negotiations are going well and we were boosted by this last quarter's air arrival statistics. Given the economic downturn, the airlines are jumping at any signs of growth."