Thank you, Mr. Chairman and members of Parliament. Good afternoon, and thank you for inviting me to speak to the committee regarding Nav Canada's current review of airport traffic services.
Accompanying me, as the chairman indicated, is Rudy Kellar, our vice-president of operations, and Larry Lachance, the assistant vice-president of operations.
Nav Canada is the private non-share capital company that owns and operates the second-largest civil air navigation system in the world. There are some 5,200 Nav Canada employees from coast to coast to coast, providing vital air traffic control, flight information, and other services in support of those who fly in Canadian skies.
As many of you will remember, on November 1, 1996, we purchased the air navigation system from the federal government for $1.5 billion and assumed responsibility for the system's operation. We are completely self-financing and receive no government funding whatsoever.
In the past 12 years aviation has evolved significantly, and we have worked closely with our customers to ensure that the air navigation system has evolved along with it. We have invested more than $1.3 billion in new systems, facilities, and equipment, and in our people, with excellent results. Safety has improved, flight delays are down, our technology is leading edge, and our service charges have evolved at far less than the rate of inflation, and I am proud to say that Nav Canada people are known around the globe as the best in the business.
Still, changes in customer needs and technology are continuous, and we must keep pace. Indeed, change has affected everything at Nav Canada, from how air traffic controllers track aircraft to the management of flight data to the provision of vital weather information and to aircraft approach guidance. And I must say that the continued modernization of the Canadian air navigation system is viewed with admiration wherever I travel around the world. That modernization drive has put Canada on the map as a centre of excellence in its field, as other air navigation systems have begun to buy our technology solutions, developed right here by Nav Canada engineers and air traffic controllers.
As one would expect, traffic volumes have also changed at many airports and will naturally continue to do so over time. We monitor those traffic volumes and regularly assess our services to ensure we are supporting safe and efficient operations in a cost-effective way.
In early December we released a discussion paper to solicit input from employees, customers, and other stakeholders regarding air traffic services required at 46 separate airports. Following a review of the input received and an additional follow-on analysis, we have decided not to propose any changes at 18 of the airports in that original paper.
Last week we announced our intention to initiate aeronautical studies to further examine specific proposals for changes at 26 airports. Generally these proposals involve reducing the hours of operation of two airport control towers and five flight service stations; closing eight flight service stations, to be replaced with remote aerodrome advisory services, which is a similar service provided by another flight service station remotely—two of these flight service stations are collocated with towers, and the towers would remain operational; and finally, removing remote aerodrome advisory service from 11 very low-traffic airports.
Additionally, we are seeking further input regarding service requirements in northwestern Ontario prior to formulating service proposals for Kenora and Thunder Bay airports.
I must emphasize that we have made no decision at this time, other than to initiate aeronautical studies, to examine these proposals further. The aeronautical studies will involve broad consultation, detailed operational analysis, as well as a complete hazard and risk analysis. This process will take several months.
If the conclusion of a study is to recommend that a service change be made, no changes will be implemented until Transport Canada, our safety regulator, has reviewed the completed study and it's in agreement that implementation would not unacceptably increase the risk to aviation safety.
Nav Canada's core mandate, and indeed our only real product, is safety. That will be our unwavering focus as we complete these studies, but service to our customers and the cost effectiveness of our service must also be a factor.
Our flight service specialists and air traffic controllers serve a vital function and enhance the safety of operations when traffic levels are moderate to high. Of course, the key factor is the presence, or absence, of air traffic. It must be said that the value of the air traffic services function is minimal when traffic levels are so low that pilots could have coordinated their respective activities directly on common radio frequencies, as they have done safely for decades at hundreds of airports across the country.
Pilots require certain essential information to operate safely. None of these proposals would remove that information, but they ensure it is provided through other means.
To conclude, before we go to questions, I would like to say how deeply proud l am of Nav Canada's record as a privatized air navigation service and especially of our people at all our facilities across Canada.
Our approach to making changes to level of service is very much in line with this record. That approach is measured, consultative, and we believe very much in tune with the expectations of our customers and with Transport Canada, the safety regulator.
Mr. Chairman, we would be pleased to take the committee's questions. Merci.
