Thank you, Mr. Bachrach.
I think you've hit the nail on the head in terms of where we, as Canadian people, ought to be putting our dollars and cents in trying to support transportation in this country.
The railways built this country 140 years ago. We've evolved the Canadian air transportation system over the last 110 years to the point that I now consider that Canadians feel air travel is an essential Canadian human right and we need air travel in order for this country to survive. Without air travel, how do you get to Vancouver from Toronto or Ottawa? There is no viable alternative that's really competitive with what's going on around us in the world.
Air is really an integral part of making our economy work. Now, the question becomes one of who pays for it. We've made a decision over the last 25 years, as Canadians, to basically say the users pay. Those people who use air services should be paying for air services. That's the model that's created all of these taxes that my colleagues and I have been saying over the years are a barrier to entry for many carriers into Canada.
However, that's a fundamental question. User-pay means that only air passengers should be paying for the infrastructure required to support air services. Unfortunately, while that model served its day, back in the mid-nineties and early 2000s, the world has changed. The world is now looking at air services, airport infrastructure and the whole airport as being an economic weight that has to be borne by the countries themselves.
When I look at investments in airports around the world, I see Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates investing $35 billion to $40 billion in airports because they know that the future of their country and economy is based on airports. If there's one country that is really focusing on airports as a key piece of infrastructure, it should be Canada.
I believe you're right. Canadians have to change the model. The user-pay model doesn't work anymore.