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Simulator training remains 'possible option' for Boeing 737 MAX pilots in Canada

FILE PHOTO: An aerial photo shows Boeing 737 MAX airplanes parked on the tarmac at the Boeing Factory in Renton, Washington, U.S. March 21, 2019. REUTERS/Lindsey Wasson/File Photo

MONTREAL (Reuters) - Simulator training remains a "possible option" for Canadian Boeing 737 MAX pilots, but it's too early to say whether it would be mandatory, a Transport Canada official said on Thursday night, further distancing the regulator from previous remarks by the country's transport minister. "It would be premature not seeing what Boeing has fully proposed yet to determine if simulator training will in fact be included," said Nicholas Robinson, the regulator's director general, civil aviation, told reporters on a conference call following a meeting of global regulators in Texas. Canada's Transport Minister Marc Garneau called in April for pilots to received simulator training for Boeing's software fix. Garneau told Reuters on Wednesday that while "there's a very strong argument for simulators, let's see what the final package is proposed that has the agreement of the FAA and that is the result of them certifying it." (Reporting By Allison Lampert; Editing by Sandra Maler)