We just boarded CANFOR 01, the Canadian Air Force Polaris jet used when the
Prime Minister travels abroad. We've been waiting here at a special
government terminal at Ottawa International airport since about 6:30 a.m.
this morning — standard PMO protocol is to have media and others arrive at
least two hours ahead of takeoff time.
For the first time, the Prime Minister will travel abroad with his children,
Ben and Rachel. The PM's family should be arriving any minute.
It's been snowing for several hours here in Ottawa so we will need to de-ice
the plane before takeoff. The forecast for northern France is great —
sunny, warm (15 C) and clear.
There is a decent-sized crowd on board. Minister Jason Kenney is travelling
with us and we expect to be joined in France by Ministers Michael Fortier,
Greg Thompson and Rona Ambrose.
We also expect to joined by Michael Ignatieff, deputy Liberal leader, Joe
Comartin of the NDP, and Roger Gaudet of the Bloc Quebecois. Speaker Peter
Milliken is also set to travel to Vimy.
Among the journalists travelling with the PM today are Lowell Green, the
talk show host on Ottawa radio station CFRA; Alan Freeman of the Globe and
Mail, Bruce Cheadle from The Canadian Press, and Bruce Campion-Smith from
the Toronto Star. Many news organizations, including CTV, already have
reporters on the ground in France.
We are set to spend most of the day in the air, landing at Lille, France —
about an hour's drive north of Vimy — at about 10 pm local time and we will
spend the night in Arras, just south of the famous ridge.