The bankruptcy court supervising Air Canada's restructuring should extend the airline's creditor protection to give it time to find a replacement for Hong Kong billionaire Victor Li, the monitor overseeing the airline said. In its 23rd report released yesterday, the court-appointed monitor Ernst and Young said Air Canada expects its cash resources to remain stable for several months.

[. . . . ] Li's Trinity Time Investments said Friday it plans to walk away from its $650-million investment. It cited several factors, but put most of the blame on a refusal by Air Canada's unions to make concessions on pensions.

Trinity also released Air Canada from the exclusivity obligations of their investment deal -- a move that will allow the airline to seek out another investor.

Other possible investors could include Cerberus Capital Management, the New York investment firm Trinity beat in a protracted court battle to become Air Canada's controlling shareholder.

Onex Corp., which was part of an earlier bid by The Texas Pacific Group, might also be interested. . . .