Canada's top spellers prepare for take-off courtesy of exclusive
    air-travel partner Air Canada

    WINNIPEG, April 16 /CNW/ - Having spent the last few weeks gearing up for
the fourth annual CanWest CanSpell National Spelling Bee, the country's top
spellers have made their descent into Ottawa-Gatineau for three days of
sight-seeing, celebrating - and of course, spelling - courtesy of Air Canada.
    The exclusive air-travel partner of CanWest CanSpell since the program's
inception, Air Canada provides each one of the country's best spellers and
their accompanying parent/chaperone with airfare to Ottawa for the CanWest
CanSpell National Spelling Bee, as well as complimentary travel to Washington,
D.C. to participate in Scripps' Bee Week later in May.
    "Air Canada believes in celebrating the knowledge, competitive skills and
sportsmanship of young Canadians who put their talents to the test through the
CanSpell program," says Duncan Dee, Executive Vice President, Customer
Experience & Chief Administrative Officer.
    "In addition this year, in order to reduce environmental impact, Air
Canada pledges to offset the carbon emissions for each CanSpell participant
and chaperone with donations to Zerofootprint, a not-for-profit organization
that operates carbon offset programs," said Mr. Dee.

    About Canwest:
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    Canwest Global Communications Corp. (www.canwest.com), (TSX: CGS and
CGS.A) an international media company, is Canada's largest media company. In
addition to owning the Global Television Network, Canwest is Canada's largest
publisher of paid English language daily newspapers and owns, operates and/or
holds substantial interests in conventional television, out-of-home
advertising, specialty cable channels, web sites and radio stations and
networks in Canada, Australia, Turkey, Indonesia, Singapore, the United
Kingdom and the United States.

    About Air Canada:
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    Montreal-based Air Canada provides scheduled and charter air
transportation for passengers and cargo to more than 170 destinations on five
continents. Canada's flag carrier is the 14th largest commercial airline in
the world and serves 33 million customers annually with a fleet consisting of
340 aircraft. Air Canada is a founding member of Star Alliance, providing the
world's most comprehensive air transportation network.