Editing David Collenette (section)

===Minister of Transport===
After a few months on the back benches, he was re-admitted to Cabinet in July 1997 and was appointed [[Minister of Transport (Canada)|Minister of Transport]]. In this portfolio his most important decisions were those that led to the merging of [[Canadian Airlines]] and [[Air Canada]], the divestment of [[CN Rail]] operations in Northern Manitoba to the favour of [[OmniTRAX|Omnitrax]], and the pseudo-commercialisation of Port Authorities under the [[Canada Marine Act]].{{citation needed|date=January 2014}} He also successfully argued in the late 1990s for the first substantial increase in funding for [[Via Rail]] since cuts in 1981, 1990 and 1994.

On 11 September 2001, the [[Federal Aviation Administration]] (FAA) closed down U.S. airspace after a series of [[September 11 attacks|terrorist attacks]] on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon. Collenette acted swiftly and shut down Canadian airspace in order to take in diverted U.S.-bound international flights, launching [[Transport Canada]]'s [[Operation Yellow Ribbon]]. Ultimately, 255 flights carrying 44,519 passengers were diverted to 15 Canadian airports{{citation needed|date=January 2014}}. In the time that has followed, Collenette has applauded the way Canadians responded to the crisis. He, Chrétien, U.S. Ambassador to Canada [[Paul Cellucci]], and other provincial and local officials presided over Canada's memorial service to mark the [[Memorials and services for the September 11 attacks|first anniversary of 9/11]] at [[Gander International Airport]] in Newfoundland and Labrador. There, he helped Chrétien unveil a plaque, commemorating the acts of kindness seen for the diverted passengers not just in [[Gander, Newfoundland and Labrador|Gander]], but across the country.