Air Canada says it takes no responsibility for the audacious theft of $23.8 million in gold and cash from its Toronto Pearson Airport facility earlier this year.

The airline is facing a lawsuit from security services company Brink’s after a thief left an Air Canada warehouse with the massive cargo on April 17.

In a statement of defence, Air Canada rejected all allegations in Brink’s suit, saying it had complied with its contract of carriage and denying any reckless or improper conduct.

The nation’s largest airline adds that Brink’s did not note the value of the shipment on the waybill — a document typically issued by a carrier with shipment details — and that if Brink’s suffered losses, a treaty multilateral agreement known as the Montreal Convention would limit Air Canada’s liability.

In a filing last month in federal court, Brink’s said an unidentified individual gained access to the airline’s cargo warehouse and presented false documents approximately 40 minutes after Pearson landed at Pearson. an Air Canada flight from Zurich.

The statement said staff then handed over 400 kilograms of gold in the form of 24 bars — currently worth about $21.1 million — plus nearly $2 million in cash to the thief, who quickly fled with the cargo.