Exchange Income Corporation Announces Launch of Atik Mason Indigenous Pilot Pathway

Exchange Income Corporation (TSX: EIF) (“EIC” or “the Corporation”), a diversified, acquisition-oriented company focused on opportunities in the aerospace, aviation and manufacturing sectors, ensures support for the Every Child Matter movement is not just words but action, with the introduction of the Atik Mason Indigenous Pilot Pathway (“the Pathway”), a fully-funded opportunity for Indigenous community members to learn to fly and build careers as professional pilots. With the support and guidance of Manitoba Keewatinowi Okimakank Inc. (MKO), the Pathway has been designed to remove significant barriers to flight training faced by Indigenous candidates, including cost and location, and honors the importance of retaining a deep connection to Indigenous culture while training.

“We have had a long standing and supportive relationship with the Indigenous Communities we serve” said EIC’s Chief Executive Officer, Mike Pyle. “Last year in an initiative with the Winnipeg Blue Bombers and the Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs, we further extended that support by bringing in over 1,000 members from Indigenous communities to partake in a Blue Bomber game to honour the National Day of Truth and Reconciliation and bring awareness to the Every Child Matters initiative. At that time, we said that reconciliation needed to be an ongoing process and we are putting those words into action with the establishment of the Pathway. It creates opportunities for Indigenous youth to grow and thrive, both for themselves and their greater communities, and sets them up for long-term success.”

MKO’s Grand Chief, Garrison Settee, agrees. “The Atik Mason Indigenous Pilot Pathway will open doors for our people. MKO is pleased for the opportunity to work closely with EIC to help make this program successful and empower a young generation of Canadian pilots who represent the communities they serve.” He added that “we are proud to support EIC in this initiative as it’s programs like Pathway that spark discussion, bring awareness to Every Child Matters, and help the healing that is needed.”

As part of the Pathway, EIC’s subsidiary MFC Training, Canada’s largest flight training school, is establishing a seasonal base in Thompson, Manitoba to reduce the barrier of location to accessing flight training. “We wanted to create an opportunity that overcomes many of the challenges that Indigenous people face when considering a career in aviation,” said EIC’s Director of Aviation Programs, Robin Jacuzzi. “Flight training is costly, especially so if a student has to relocate away from their family and community. Providing fully-funded training in the heart of northern Manitoba will allow Pathway members to maintain a strong connection to their homes and cultures while they challenge themselves to build the skills, confidence, and licences to fly professionally.”

The program’s namesake, Timothy Atik ‘Tik’ Mason, forged the pathway for Indigenous pilots and inspired EIC’s initiative. Tik’s aviation career took flight when he received the Bill Wehrle Scholarship from Perimeter Aviation and moved to Moncton as a student and then flight instructor at MFC Training. Last summer, Tik returned to Manitoba to serve his home community of St. Theresa Point, operating Perimeter’s Dash 8 aircraft. Starting next month, Tik is excited to contribute to the Pathway as a flight instructor, cultural leader, and mentor to program members. As one of Manitoba’s few commercially licensed Indigenous pilots, his story of passion, resilience, and hard work will inspire Indigenous people to follow in his footsteps. Mirroring Tik’s experience, each Pathway member will be awarded employment as a pilot for one of EIC’s local air operators following successful completion of their Commercial Pilot Licence.

For more information on the Atik Mason Indigenous Pilot Pathway or to apply to become a member, contact [email protected].

About Exchange Income Corporation

Exchange Income Corporation is a diversified acquisition-oriented company, focused in two sectors: aerospace & aviation services and equipment, and manufacturing. The Corporation uses a disciplined acquisition strategy to identify already profitable, well-established companies that have strong management teams, generate steady cash flow, operate in niche markets and have opportunities for organic growth. For more information on the Corporation, please visit www.ExchangeIncomeCorp.ca. Additional information relating to the Corporation, including all public filings, is available on SEDAR (www.sedar.com).

Caution concerning forward-looking statements

The statements contained in this news release that are forward-looking are based on current expectations and are subject to a number of uncertainties and risks, and actual results may differ materially. These uncertainties and risks include, but are not limited to, COVID-19 and pandemic related risks, the dependence of Exchange Income Corporation on the operations and assets currently owned by it, the degree to which its subsidiaries are leveraged, the fact that cash distributions are not guaranteed and will fluctuate with the Corporation’s financial performance, dilution, restrictions on potential future growth, the risk of shareholder liability, competitive pressures (including price competition), changes in market activity, the cyclicality of the industries, seasonality of the businesses, poor weather conditions, and foreign currency fluctuations, legal proceedings, commodity prices and raw material exposure, dependence on key personnel, and environmental, health and safety and other regulatory requirements. Except as required by Canadian Securities Law, Exchange does not undertake to update any forward-looking statements; such statements speak only as of the date made. Further information about these and other risks and uncertainties can be found in the disclosure documents filed by Exchange Income Corporation with the securities regulatory authorities, available at www.sedar.com.

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Mike Pyle
Chief Executive Officer
Exchange Income Corporation
(204) 982-1850
[email protected]

Pam Plaster
Vice President, Investor Development
Exchange Income Corporation
(204) 953-1314
[email protected]