Thank you, Mr. Chair.
In terms of the owner-operator, I think we laid out—for example, in paragraph 6.54—that we talked to the operators about applying to the airports assistance program for funding and some of the issues they were running into. Not all of them actually came forward and applied to the program. Part of the problem was the cost of submitting a proposal, or their capacity or ability to get contractors to prepare and submit a proposal. Some operators, right from the very beginning, were running into some problems with being able to bring their concerns forward.
The issue we are identifying here is that when you look at the funding, particularly through the airports assistance program, that has been available compared to what the owner-operators are saying is on their list of safety-related issues, those two things don't line up. Somehow, those two things need to line up.
I would also like to comment on the whole safety issue, which I think has been touched on so far, because in no way are we questioning the safety of these airports when they're operating. They're all regulated and they all have to follow the rules. The concern is more, as the deputy put it, that there's perhaps a range of weather conditions, for example, that some of them can't operate in. The airport is safe when it's not operating, but that means things like medical evacuations can't get in within those time periods, so people who may need those medical evacuations at that time don't have access to them. The issue isn't a question of the airport not operating safely. The safety issue, if you want, is a broader issue of people who perhaps need some emergency types of services, but because of weather conditions and because the airports aren't equipped to operate in those weather conditions, those people may not be able to get access to the services at those times.
In terms of the overall issue, it very much is—and I think this was referred to earlier—one of planning and funding. It's a question of what needs to be done, where it needs to be done, who has to do it, what money is available, and whether those two things line up. If they don't and there's a gap, then what happens? If these are safety issues, if they are issues of being able to operate in a broader range of weather conditions, is one goal to allow some of these airports to operate in those weather conditions? Again, we're not questioning the safe operation of the airports when they are actually allowed to operate.