Evidence of meeting #11 for Transport, Infrastructure and Communities in the 42nd Parliament, 1st Session. (The original version is on Parliament’s site, as are the minutes.) The winning word was jobs.
A recording is available from Parliament.
Liberal
Ken Hardie Liberal Fleetwood—Port Kells, BC
Thank you for being here.
Following on the last question, what price gap are we looking at between the work that had been done in Canada and the work you're getting done elsewhere now?
Senior Vice-President, Regional Market and Government Affairs, Air Canada
Today?
Senior Vice-President, Regional Market and Government Affairs, Air Canada
We have maintenance done here in Canada. We have maintenance done in Trois-Rivières, and as we mentioned in our opening remarks, we have maintenance done in the U.S. Is there a ballpark figure? If there is, I don't know exactly what that figure would be, to be quite honest about it.
Liberal
Ken Hardie Liberal Fleetwood—Port Kells, BC
Okay.
That is a little surprising, because obviously when the economic factors come into play, you're looking to get things done at a reasonable price.
Senior Vice-President, Regional Market and Government Affairs, Air Canada
We source on a global basis.
Liberal
Ken Hardie Liberal Fleetwood—Port Kells, BC
It's safe to say that it costs more in Canada than it does in these other places. Otherwise you'd have it done here, right?
Senior Vice-President, Regional Market and Government Affairs, Air Canada
Pardon?
Liberal
Ken Hardie Liberal Fleetwood—Port Kells, BC
It costs more to get this work done here in Canada than it would in the other places where you're currently getting the work done.
David Rheault Director, Government Affairs and Community Relations, Air Canada
We outsource work based on competitiveness and on different factors. To answer your question, it depends really on the aircraft type that is subject to maintenance.
The model now in the airline industry and the maintenance industry is that you do business in centres that are really specialized in one product.
Liberal
Ken Hardie Liberal Fleetwood—Port Kells, BC
Yes, we're aware of that. We had heard that earlier, and then that leads to the question. If you look at your fleet right now, how much of that maintenance can be done in Canada because the maintenance—the line maintenance or especially the heavy maintenance—doesn't require proprietary tools or the specialized centres of excellence that have been mentioned?
What percentage of the maintenance of your fleet would it be safe to say would still be done in Canada?
Director, Government Affairs and Community Relations, Air Canada
At this point, as the model evolves, it's always difficult to assess what percentage of the fleet can be done where. It's always a question of the evolution of the business.
Today, all our regional aircraft are maintained in Canada with our suppliers in Halifax, Calgary, and places like Prince Edward Island. All our Embraer are maintained in Trois-Rivières. It always depends on the suppliers and on the offer you get.
Obviously, as an airline, we go to the place that is competitive, where there is quality. It's always a question of choice between various suppliers around the world.
Liberal
Ken Hardie Liberal Fleetwood—Port Kells, BC
When Aveos shut down, obviously you started almost right away, I guess, to get your maintenance done where you could get it done, and that probably then involved moving this work out of Canada. Was that the case?
Senior Vice-President, Regional Market and Government Affairs, Air Canada
Correct. It did, yes.
Liberal
Ken Hardie Liberal Fleetwood—Port Kells, BC
All right. Did you use all of the capacity available in Canada at that time to basically comply with the law?
Senior Vice-President, Regional Market and Government Affairs, Air Canada
Well, some of the work went to Canada. We have work, as David said, in Trois-Rivières. The majority of the narrow-bodied fleet, in large measure, went to the U.S. Some of the wide-bodied fleet went to Israel and Asia. We sourced the globe to find capacity when Aveos failed.
Liberal
Angelo Iacono Liberal Alfred-Pellan, QC
Thank you, Madam Chair.
Those who oppose the bill, unions in particular, expect massive job losses in Canada. Would that be the case if Bill C-10 passes?
Senior Vice-President, Regional Market and Government Affairs, Air Canada
No. It would not happen.
Air Canada is a growing company. We have significantly grown our line maintenance operations and staff here across Canada. To think that there are going to be job losses if this legislation passes versus what's there today, no. In fact, I see the opposite.
Director, Government Affairs and Community Relations, Air Canada
I would like to add that the regulations that were adopted by Quebec and Manitoba will help to establish centres of excellence, which will create many high-quality jobs in Canada. We expect that the act as amended will improve Air Canada's competitiveness, so that many new jobs could be created.
Take for example our new carrier, Air Canada rouge, which now employs 1,600 people. That's one example of the high-quality jobs in the airline industry that have been created in recent years.
Liberal
Angelo Iacono Liberal Alfred-Pellan, QC
I have another question for you.
What would Air Canada need in order to keep maintenance jobs in Canada, precisely? What examples can you share with us today?
Senior Vice-President, Regional Market and Government Affairs, Air Canada
To maintain jobs in Canada, it would be the capacity to establish that those jobs can be done, and done on a competitive basis as benchmarked globally, in the way the industry benchmarks itself.
Director, Government Affairs and Community Relations, Air Canada
Just to add to this, Air Canada is keeping thousands of maintenance jobs in Canada, way more than any other airline at this point.
Liberal
Angelo Iacono Liberal Alfred-Pellan, QC
I well understand that you want to be competitive, but let's go beyond being competitive. Let's go with facts. What do you really need in order to maintain and keep jobs in Canada?
We all want to be competitive. If you're not competitive, there will be no jobs for anybody anywhere, so we know you want to be competitive. By becoming more flexible, you'll be more competitive. What does Air Canada need in order to keep jobs in Canada?
This is a direct question.
