Thank you, Mr. Chair.
I want to get into the differences in taxes and fees between Canadian fares and American fares. We do have competition in my neck of the woods in British Columbia. I live in Chilliwack, which is about half an hour from the Abbotsford airport and about 45 minutes, or an hour tops, from the Bellingham airport.
We have seen some analysis that says the flight price in Canada includes 43% in taxes compared with 15% in the U.S. When talking about airport rents, the federal government collected in 2022-23 $419 million in airport rents, an increase of 42.5% in just 10 years. As of May 1, tomorrow, travellers in Canada will pay $9.94 for a domestic flight and $34.42 for an international flight on security fees. The same fee in the United States is less than $15.30.
Maybe I'll go to you, Professor Moore. You referenced the Abbotsford airport, which is the closest international airport to me. Do you think the federal government cares that millions of Canadians every year are choosing to fly out of Bellingham, Sea-Tac, Billings, Great Falls and Buffalo? They're making the choice that Canadian air travel is unaffordable. If you're taking a family of four to Disneyland for maybe a once-in-a-lifetime trip, or if you're doing recreational travel, I can tell you that all my constituents who do that travel are not just examining WestJet and Air Canada. They're also examining Vancouver International Airport versus Seattle-Tacoma.
Can you talk about whether this is quantified? Does the government monitor that? Do you think they particularly care if Canadians fly out of U.S. markets instead of Canadian ones?