The repatriation ceremony for the latest Canadian soldier killed in Afghanistan has been delayed because of severe winter weather in Europe.
The military transport plane carrying Cpl. Steve Martin was expected to arrive at CFB Trenton in eastern Ontario at 2 p.m. ET today.
However, a spokeswoman at CFB Trenton says the plane stopped in Germany but is now delayed there because of the weather.
Travel in Europe, especially in England, has been hampered over several days due to inclement weather as airports struggle to keep runways free of snow and ice.
The repatriation ceremony has been tentatively rescheduled to Wednesday at 2 p.m., but that is expected to be confirmed later today.
Cpl. Martin - who would have turned 25 on Monday - was killed on Saturday by an improvised explosive device while he was on foot patrol.
Cpl. Martin was attached to the 3rd Battalion Royal 22e Regiment based at CFB Valcartier in Quebec.
He was from Saint-Cyrille-de-Wendover, about 115 kilometres northeast of Montreal, and was the 154th Canadian soldier to die as part of the Afghan mission.
Fresh snowfall forced Frankfurt airport, Germany's biggest, to suspend takeoffs and landings for a few hours early Tuesday.
EU Transportation Commissioner Siim Kallas said new airport regulations due to be published before the summer could include new requirements on "minimal services" airports will have to be able to provide during severe weather.
He said he will meet with airport representatives in coming days "to ask for further explanations and to take a hard look at what is necessary to make sure they would be able to operate more effectively."
"Airports must 'get serious' about planning for this kind of severe weather conditions," Kallas said. "We have seen in recent years that snow in Western Europe is not such an exceptional circumstance.
"Better preparedness, in line with what is done in Northern Europe is not an optional extra, it must be planned for and with the necessary investment, particularly on the side of the airports," Kallas said.