Evidence of meeting #121 for Indigenous and Northern Affairs in the 42nd Parliament, 1st Session. (The original version is on Parliament’s site, as are the minutes.) The winning word was north.
A recording is available from Parliament.
Conservative
Arnold Viersen Conservative Peace River—Westlock, AB
Thank you, Madam Chair.
I can continue in that vein.
I'm interested in air travel. Alaska seems to thrive on air travel. I don't necessarily see the same enthusiasm for air travel in Canada. Would that assessment be right? You're more likely to be on an airplane than in a pickup truck in Alaska, it seems. And in northern Canada, there are definitely more pickup trucks than airplanes. Is that a correct assessment?
Director General, Strategic Policy, Department of Transport
In Nunavut, for example, it's exclusively air travel between communities and for connections to the south. Of course, there's the marine supply.
I gather your question is more about the private use of aircraft instead of a vehicle.
I can't comment on what the numbers might be. Obviously, the population of Alaska is a little different from that of any one of the collectivity of territories, but there's no doubt that air is absolutely critical for getting around. It's the same in the Yukon. You see the air mode being used around exploration and mining, and so on. It's the same thing in the NWT. Air is fairly similar across the territories, from the point of view of how it's used. It's complemented by other modes, depending on the territory you're looking at. It's very much a critical mode for all three territories, and more critical as you go farther east.
Conservative
Arnold Viersen Conservative Peace River—Westlock, AB
Is your department working on any initiatives to lower some of the thresholds for air travel?
Director General, Strategic Policy, Department of Transport
To lower thresholds in what context?
Conservative
Arnold Viersen Conservative Peace River—Westlock, AB
It's costly to fly an airplane. I know that from my own experience. Is the department looking at how we can lower some of the costs of flying?
Director General, Strategic Policy, Department of Transport
I certainly think cost is one of the things we're very sensitive to, given how it impacts travellers in the north and the cost of goods. A lot of variables go into the cost. It's a marketplace for air.
When you're looking at infrastructure and investments in infrastructure out of the national trade corridors fund, for example, one of the announcements made in recent months was around air terminals in Nunavut and five of them being refurbished. These kinds of investments help to contain or lower costs.
On the side of goods, for example, making sure there's adequate storage for food reduces spoilage. First Air is investing in a big storage facility in Iqaluit, which will help with costs.
Conservative
Arnold Viersen Conservative Peace River—Westlock, AB
One of the other things I'm getting to is how the carbon tax has affected the cost of building a new road or a new airstrip, or just getting anything into the north.
Director General, Strategic Policy, Department of Transport
The territorial governments are responsible for the operation and maintenance of transportation facilities.
Conservative
Director General, Strategic Policy, Department of Transport
You'd have to ask—
Conservative
Arnold Viersen Conservative Peace River—Westlock, AB
Have you noticed that the costs have been going up significantly since the carbon tax has come in?
Director General, Transportation Infrastructure Programs, Department of Transport
I could comment on this point.
We have the national trade corridors fund. It's a merit-based program, as I mentioned before. Projects are submitted to us by proponents. Those can be territories, municipalities or indigenous groups. We provide funding to them based on all the information we have on the projects. We choose projects based on their merits. For some of those questions, we will need to look at the different projects we have that we'll be funding in the coming years.
Conservative
Conservative
Conservative
Liberal
The Chair Liberal MaryAnn Mihychuk
On that note, I want to thank all of you on behalf of the MPs here for coming out and answering our questions to the best of your ability. I look forward to any information that you're going to send us, and I look forward to constructing a meaningful report.
Thank you.
We're adjourned.