Good morning. I'd like to start by thanking the chair, vice-chairs and members of the Standing Committee on Industry, Science and Technology for the invitation to appear here today. I am Ray Bohn, president and CEO of Nav Canada. I am joined today by Ben Girard, VP and chief of operations, and Jonathan Bagg, director, stakeholder and industry relations.
Nav Canada is responsible for the safe and efficient movement of aircraft in all Canadian-controlled airspace. Nav Canada's safety mandate is achieved primarily through the delivery of air traffic control and flight information services; the maintenance, update and publishing of aeronautical information products; the reliable provision of communications, navigation and surveillance infrastructure; and the 24/7 availability of advanced air traffic management systems.
We are responsible for more than 18 million square kilometres of airspace from coast to coast to coast and reaching halfway across the North Atlantic. Thanks to the work of our more than 4,400 employees operating out of more than 100 operational facilities throughout the country, Canada boasts one of the best air traffic management safety records in the world.
Since Nav Canada assumed responsibility for the Canadian air navigation system in 1996, we have invested more than $2.7 billion to modernize our systems and our infrastructure to enhance service delivery. Many of the air traffic systems we use today are deployed in-house by our skilled and innovative workforce and deployed to facilities across the country as well as internationally.
We are a founding partner of Aireon, which has deployed space-based surveillance on a constellation of 60 satellites to provide global surveillance coverage and thus the ability to track flights anywhere in the world. This satellite-based technology provides radar-like coverage to places where the deployment of ground infrastructure, such as over the oceans or mountainous terrain, was not previously possible. Today it is being used over the North Atlantic and domestically to enable more direct routings, resulting in enhanced situational awareness, significant fuel savings for operators and reductions of greenhouse gas emissions.
We have also invested in Ottawa-based Searidge Technologies and their intelligent aviation camera technology that can fill line-of-sight gaps and is now featured in remote towers in several countries.
The result of our investments and our employees' efforts is an air navigation service that is a global leader in operational safety and efficiency, an air navigation service that has been able to both develop and integrate emerging technologies and an air navigation service that has helped reduce the environmental impacts of the industry.
Even today, as we weather the severe consequences that COVID-19 has brought on the industry, we have an eye to the future. This is because many of the platforms we will be using in the near future are precisely those that will provide for increased resiliency and sustainability, while allowing us to deploy services more flexibly and cost effectively in response to changes in demand and regional needs. For example, digital hub concepts will greatly reduce the costs of delivering the same or an enhanced level of service to our customers and communities and support Nav Canada in ensuring equal or better safety.
Financial assistance and investment from government for the industry as a whole, and for aviation infrastructure in particular, will certainly assist the aviation sector in its recovery and its future resiliency and also support a broader economic recovery.
Nav Canada is also supportive of policies that support a safe restart. A responsible recovery of traffic will have the greatest positive effect on the entire supply chain and limit future burden on airlines and the air travellers they serve. Nav Canada is currently working to ensure that it has the right workforce providing the right services in the right places to position the sector well for recovery. Every decision we make as an organization is made first in the context of safety. As part of the process for change, we have been listening to all stakeholders that directly and indirectly utilize our services and that pay our service charges. We're very encouraged by the light at the end of the tunnel made possible by modern science through vaccination.
We also know that, despite a potential surge in demand for air travel due to pent-up demand, a full recovery to 2019 air traffic levels is likely going to take several years to achieve. As a result, it is critical that the industry and government work together in lockstep to chart a course to the sector's recovery but also for Canada's position in the global marketplace now and in the future.
In this context, Nav Canada appreciates the opportunity to share our views as the committee undertakes its important study on the development and support of the aerospace industry.
Thank you, Madam Chair, and I welcome questions from members of the committee.