Good afternoon, Mr. Chairman, and members of this standing committee. Thank you very much for the opportunity to take five short minutes and present to you.
My name is Scott Bateman, and I am the president and CEO of First Air. First Air is the wholly owned subsidiary of Makivik Corporation, Makivik Corporation being the birthright organization representing the interests of the Inuit of Nunavik.
We've been in business 64 years, and we've been operating out of Iqaluit for over 35 years. We're one of Canada's oldest airlines and have operated successfully without a subsidy from any form of government--municipal, provincial, territorial, or otherwise--over that entire 64-year period.
First Air has over 1,000 employees, with approximately 500 working in the north. We are one of the largest private sector employers in the north. With a fleet of over 21 aircraft, a diversified fleet of aircraft, First Air is the largest air carrier in the region. We provide scheduled air service to 30 northern communities located in the three territories of Nunavik, Nunavut, and the Northwest Territories. We provide scheduled air service to 30 northern communities; to 19 of them we carry food mail on our scheduled route network.
As a major stakeholder in the food mail program, we were active participants in the food mail program review process. In addition, we took it upon ourselves earlier this year to meet with many individual members of the standing committee with regard to proposed changes to this program.
Throughout the review process, our position was, and continues to be, that certain areas of the program could certainly be improved. However, we maintain that the necessary improvements would have best been achieved within the framework of the existing program. Proposed changes to a program as important to all northerners as the food mail program should be based on a fully transparent process involving all stakeholders. Proposed changes should be based on both qualified and quantifiable data comparing the cost, efficiency, and effectiveness of the current program to the cost, efficiency, and benefits to be achieved from any proposed changes.
From this carrier's perspective, this was not the case with regard to the changes put in place to date.
Without roads, railways, or year-round marine transportation, the 30 northern communities we serve are cut off from southern supply points. As such, safe, reliable, and efficient air transportation is essential to northerners, not a luxury.
The northern air transportation system is in a state of delicate balance. Over our scheduled route network, food mail, cargo, medical travel passengers, and other passengers are carried on the same flight using specially modified aircraft. The economics of carrying both passengers and freight on a single aircraft typically supports daily service over our route network connecting the most northern communities to our north-south jet service.
Over the years, First Air and our shareholder, Makivik Corporation, have reinvested in excess of $120 million in support of this northern air transportation network. That being said, the food mail program is undergoing material changes. With April 1, 2011, rapidly approaching, we are concerned that the users of the program may not have sufficient time to adjust their supply chain to the new reality. Changes to our customers' supply chain and transportation logistics will potentially drive the need for air carriers to amend their product offerings and reinvest in additional infrastructure elsewhere.
Thank you very much for your time.