Transport Committee on Sept. 26th, 2018

[Geoff Dickson]

No, it's throughout Canada, within the Canadian Airports Council, which is our advocacy group for the Canadian airports. It's structured into the eight largest airports in the country and then all the other member airports, the smaller airports. That's typically the airports that would be our size, from two million passengers down to a few hundred thousand.

[Robert Aubin, NDP, Trois-Rivières, QC]

Do you know which members of your association are from Quebec?

[Geoff Dickson]

The Quebec City airport certainly is. I think there's just Quebec City, but I'm not 100% certain on that.

[Robert Aubin, NDP, Trois-Rivières, QC]

For us, the Jean-Lesage Airport in Québec City is still a major airport, behind Montréal, of course. We would not consider referring to the Québec City airport as a regional airport. We would instead do so regarding small airports, such as the one in Sherbrooke or Trois-Rivières.

Could those airports be members of your association?

[Geoff Dickson]

They certainly can.

[Robert Aubin, NDP, Trois-Rivières, QC]

What services could they receive as members of your association?

[Geoff Dickson]

If they had an interest in being pushed forward at the federal level, if they had access to information, best practices in airport management.... There are a number of different committees, whether operations or environmental management practices, that come together with the airports with information sharing.

[Robert Aubin, NDP, Trois-Rivières, QC]

Thank you.

I will come back to you, Mr. Sidhu.

You spoke about flying schools at the Abbotsford Airport, one of which specializes in Chinook helicopters. You certainly also have flying schools for airplanes. As we know, there will be a shortage of pilots in the industry, sooner rather than later.

Do you have difficulty recruiting students and instructors?

[The Chair, Liberal, Judy Sgro]

Give a short answer, please.

[Parm Sidhu]

The long and short is yes. We're getting an abundance of students. Intake is high, but now we're seeing a shortfall in instructors.

[The Chair, Liberal, Judy Sgro]

Thank you very much.

Go ahead, Mr. Iacono.

[Angelo Iacono, Liberal, Alfred-Pellan, QC]

Thank you, Madam Chair.

I'd like you to continue with that response if you have anything else to say.

[Parm Sidhu]

The shortage of pilots is going to impact airports and airlines not just in North America but globally.

We have three schools that are trying to fill whatever shortages they can, but they're not going to solve the problem alone.

[Angelo Iacono, Liberal, Alfred-Pellan, QC]

My question is for Mr. Bruno.

What have you done to attain such high scores to make the Vancouver International Airport Canada's largest airport in terms of domestic air flights and third-largest in cargo? Is there anything else that you'd like to add? You've made a few comments based on the questions that have been asked of you. What's the one thing that really got you to have those kinds of results?

[Gerry Bruno]

That's a tough question. We've been asked that by many people in the past.

I don't know. I think there's a spirit of innovation. We have pioneered a lot of new things at our airport. For example, the automated border clearance kiosk that many of you use when you arrive at an international airport is something we developed ourselves and sell around the world. We actually have 65% of the U.S. airport market.

[Angelo Iacono, Liberal, Alfred-Pellan, QC]

In other words, you've made your airport a smart airport. Is that it?

[Gerry Bruno]

Yes, you could say that.

[Angelo Iacono, Liberal, Alfred-Pellan, QC]

Is that technology something that you're sharing with other airports?

[Gerry Bruno]

Absolutely. As I said, we do sell the kiosks to other airports.

[Angelo Iacono, Liberal, Alfred-Pellan, QC]

Okay.

I have another tough question for you.

I'm happy to hear about your rapid growth and attaining the 26-million passenger mark. What do you have to say about noise pollution from air traffic flights in the vicinities of major airports?

[Gerry Bruno]

It's the reality of airports. Airplanes make noise. It's been the story of our history in aviation. It's a tough one, and we have tried to do everything we can. We have a noise management committee, which works with the local community. The airlines are on board.

Airlines are using newer aircraft that are much quieter than the older models, and we have put mitigation measures in place by working closely with NAV Canada and the airlines to look at the flight paths and to try to minimize the impact on communities. However, the reality is that airports are noisy.

[Angelo Iacono, Liberal, Alfred-Pellan, QC]

Okay.

Would the other two like to add something to that? I know it doesn't affect you as much, but—

[Parm Sidhu]

As we're locally owned and operated, we are part of the community. We work closely with anyone who has a comment or a concern. We'll bring them out to tour the airport. We want to be good friends and good neighbours.

[Angelo Iacono, Liberal, Alfred-Pellan, QC]

Thank you.

[Geoff Dickson]

Similarly, we're talking. We have discussions of flight paths. We have certain restrictions, including operating hour restrictions. I think it's important to engage with the community on a regular basis.