Transport committee  That multimodal network is important for giving people mobility options and connecting them particularly to air services, which may not be immediately locally available, so that they can easily get to their nearest airport. As you mentioned, in the Niagara region, which I'm quite familiar with, and Hamilton, which I am from, I know how congested the roadways are and how important it is that people are able to get to their destinations and access the air services they need.

Transport committee  The member raises an important point about that traveller perspective and making sure each of those steps is seamless and that there's an opportunity for one ticket to cover a complete journey. We're seeing that in places in Europe. I think that's what Air Canada is testing out in the Kitchener-Waterloo area with their bus service.

Transport committee  That's an important question about our perception of the industry. I think we're still not at a stage where we see a stabilization of the marketplace. We've been encouraged by the number of entrants in the marketplace. We're encouraged by expansion plans, like the ones we've seen from Porter Airlines, for example, and by ongoing operations from ultra-low-cost carriers.

Transport committee  That is an important question on affordability. As I mentioned in my earlier response, the user-pay system is a feature of the Canadian air system and an important feature so that taxpayers more broadly aren't saddled with the costs of running our air system. I would say, to the member's question specifically on the cost of fees, that it depends on the route we're speaking about in Canada.

Transport committee  I would say a couple of things on cross-border travel. One is that passengers may be choosing that for a number of reasons. There could be proximity reasons. There could be destination choices.

Transport committee  There could be pricing—you're right. There are a number of features that go into the mix when somebody is deciding how and when to travel. I would also say that for privacy reasons, we don't track those who are going over the border. Who is there and the actual numbers are not something we are tracking closely.

Transport committee  One of the measures we look at closely is on-time performance. That is a measurement of the efficiency of the system. In our work, we've seen remarkable recovery on delays and cancellations—

Transport committee  As we look at competition in the sector, having KPIs or measurement tools is very important. Over the period of the recovery, one of the things we were closely watching was efficiency, particularly with the traveller, who was feeling the impacts of a difficult recovery period, with a 280% increase in passenger volumes—

Transport committee  It is in terms of the efficiency of the operations within the sector. If you didn't have a competitive system, you would see perhaps one carrier or two with performance issues that were difficult to improve. With the competitive pressure of others within the system, you see that both from an OTP perspective....

Transport committee  I'd be happy to provide the committee with the ICAO competitiveness index and provide the information we look at when we're making determinations about the health of the sector.

Transport committee  No.

Transport committee  In terms of some of the fees that a carrier may face, they can include Nav Canada fees, an airport improvement fee and an air travellers security charge. All these fees are charged either at the airport level, such as an airport improvement fee, or through an entity like Nav Canada to make sure the provision of navigation services is supported.

Transport committee  As I mentioned, the landscape for some of the fees, whether they're charged at the local level or at the federal level, can be quite complex. Let me just run through an example of some of the fees that are charged. There are government fees and taxes, rent and the air transport security cost.

Transport committee  In terms of the service to remote communities, I have spent a fair amount of time both in northern Quebec and in Nunavut flying to various destinations. I know how important air services are to those remote communities in providing not only cargo and medical services, but also connectedness between communities.

Transport committee  Certainly, affordability is something we are quite concerned about and seized with. At the same time, the system in Canada is a user-based pay system, and those who are using the system cover the costs for the running of the system. That particular policy change was made by the government of the day and continues to today.