Two days after a plane crash in Ethiopia killed 157 people, a growing number of jurisdictions around the world are grounding the aircraft model that was involved in the accident.

Canada, however, continues to fly the Boeing 737 Max 8.

“It is very important that when an accident occurs—and there can be multiple reasons to explain the cause of that accident—that we don’t jump to conclusions with respect to cause of the accident,” Canada’s minister of transport, Marc Garneau, told reporters yesterday (March 11).

This morning (March 12), Garneau, an engineer by training and former president of the Canadian Space Agency, signaled it is at least possible that could change.

“I've canceled all my meetings and public events today in order to meet with my Civil Aviation Expert Panel,” the Liberal MP for Notre-Dame-de-Grâce—Westmount wrote on Twitter. “All evidence is being evaluated in real time and we're considering all potential actions.”

The Ethiopian Airlines accident occurred just five months after another Boeing 737 Max 8 crashed shortly after taking off from Jakarta, Indonesia. That plan was owned by Lion Air, a budget airline that operates throughout Southeast Asia.

The Boeing 737 Max 8 has only been in operation since 2017.

Two Boeing 737 Max 8 accidents occurring in less than six months has prompted several countries to ground the aircraft until more is known about what caused the planes to crash.

China and Indonesia were among the first. Today the European Union joined them, announcing that Boeing 737 Max 8 aircrafts would be grounded until further notice and no longer allowed to fly over EU territory.

Along with Canada, the United States is also continuing to allow Boeing 737 Max 8s to fly.

Among the 157 people killed in the Ethiopia Airlines accident were 18 Canadians.

https://twitter.com/AirlineFlyer/status/1105535029646630912

One of them was from B.C.

Yesterday, the Union of B.C. Indian Chiefs (UBCIC) issued a media release expressing condolences for Micah Messent, a young man living in Courtenay, B.C., who worked for B.C. Parks.

“Micah’s placement with B.C. Parks provided him the opportunity to not only utilize his formal education, but also to exchange traditional teachings and life experiences with others,” it reads. “Micah, an avid sailor, was a graduate of the Indigenous Studies program at the University of Victoria and had plans to return to school in the future to pursue a law degree.”