Transport Committee on June 11th, 2024

[Taylor Bachrach, NDP, Skeena—Bulkley Valley, BC]

I'm guessing that's sort of an argument, that if the federal government is going to subsidize airports to the tune of $400 million per year, it should think beyond just the big airports and make some of those monies available to the spoke airports that feed the hubs.

Is that what you're saying, Mayor Pond?

[Herbert Pond]

Absolutely. The fundamental should be that this is one great big network. Some of these airports are going to be profitable, and some of these airports aren't going to be profitable, but they all are necessary for the entire network to work. However that money gets transferred back and forth is for you guys to work out, but we have to stop thinking of these as individual airports.

[Taylor Bachrach, NDP, Skeena—Bulkley Valley, BC]

Thank you very much.

[The Chair, Liberal, Peter Schiefke]

Thank you, Mr. Bachrach.

Thank you, Mr. Pond.

We'll conclude today with Mr. Strahl.

Mr. Strahl, the floor is yours for five minutes, sir.

[Mark Strahl, Conservative, Chilliwack—Hope, BC]

Thank you very much, Mr. Chair.

Thank you to the witnesses for appearing and giving us their insight.

Mr. Chair, I'd actually like to take this time to ask you a question.

We had a motion passed by this committee to extend an invitation to Minister Fraser and Minister Rodriguez to appear before the committee to defend or discuss the estimates and the budget. Mr. Fraser appeared with his officials, and we were able to do that. We have not heard from Mr. Rodriguez, as far as I know. Obviously, we are running out of dates before the estimates are reported back, before we have those final votes and before we would have that opportunity.

I'm wondering if Minister Rodriguez has responded to that invitation. Perhaps you could let the committee know. I would say, on behalf of Conservatives, that we would be willing to sit for an extra hour or schedule an additional meeting if the timing for our meetings before the House rises for the summer does not allow for it.

Perhaps you can let us know whether he has responded. If he hasn't, are you willing to extend that invitation again in the hopes that we can do as we did with Minister Fraser and have those questions?

[The Chair, Liberal, Peter Schiefke]

Thank you, Mr. Strahl.

I conferred with our clerk, and we have not received a response back in regard to Minister Rodriguez's presence.

[Mark Strahl, Conservative, Chilliwack—Hope, BC]

Would you be willing to reach out to his office with that invitation again, with the knowledge that, from our side of the table, we'd be willing to extend hours or meet on a day we don't normally meet, provided that there are resources available?

I would ask—you don't have to respond—that you do extend that invitation again and perhaps offer him more flexibility if he has not responded to the committee that is charged with holding him accountable for the money that is spent on his file.

I'm hopeful that we will have a positive response by the next meeting.

[The Chair, Liberal, Peter Schiefke]

Thank you, Mr. Strahl. That's duly noted. I will work with the clerk to ensure that is done.

Before we conclude today, colleagues, if it's okay, I'd like to ask our witnesses, specifically Mr. Benedict, one question that I don't think has been addressed.

Mr. Benedict, thank you once again for being here today.

I'm really interested in the program the Quebec government introduced that subsidizes $500 airline tickets for destinations in rural regions.

Do you think the program is working well after operating for two years? Has there been an increase in the number of tickets sold for travel in the regions? Has the program achieved the desired results?

[Sébastien Benedict]

Thank you for that question.

We're very pleased with this program, even though there have been a few issues.

Many people buy these tickets so they can travel on vacation during periods when many tourists are already visiting the regions. We definitely try to promote these tickets all year round so that people buy more of them. Another problem is that only three airports are available for travel, those in Montreal, Quebec City and Saint-Hubert. We're working with the Quebec government to increase the number of available airports so that, for example, you can take a flight from Gaspésie to Abitibi without being limited to round trips leaving from major urban centres and airports.

[The Chair, Liberal, Peter Schiefke]

That's good. As you know, we're trying to come up with the best practices that can be introduced in Canada. So if something works in Quebec, it just might work across Canada.

Do you and your organization or the Quebec government have any statistics or data that could provide a basis for comparing the funding that the Quebec government has invested in this program with revenue that it has generated in the tourism industry? Is there a dollar-for-dollar return on investment? Do you have any statistics that show that?

I think this is really a pilot project that could work, but is there already any evidence that it's working? If so, we, as MPs, could recommend this model for Canada.

[Sébastien Benedict]

The tourism data that we have shows that one dollar invested yields seven dollars of revenue. However, something is rarely taken into consideration in the calculations: When Canadian tourists decide to stay here in Canada instead of travelling to Europe or the United States, and they visit a remote region in Quebec or Canada, the money they spend stays in our economy.

So we should encourage our fellow citizens to visit our remote regions. Many indigenous communities also offer modern but little-known tourism options. Investing in this kind of program so that Canadian tourism stays within the country doesn't necessarily generate new money but does help keep existing money in our province or country.

[The Chair, Liberal, Peter Schiefke]

Do you have any statistics or data on investments that the Quebec government has made in the past two years? We could study those figures and connect them to an increase in tourism or in money spent in the regions.

[Sébastien Benedict]

I don't have those kinds of statistics with me today, but I can check and then submit them to the committee.

[The Chair, Liberal, Peter Schiefke]

We would very much appreciate that. Thank you very much.

I'd like to thank all of our witnesses for appearing before us today and for contributing to this very important study.

With that, this meeting is adjourned.