Thank you for that. It sounds like a situation very similar to what we experience in northwest B.C., and it is certainly consistent with what we've heard from other witnesses from rural areas: It's difficult to compete with large airlines that are able to use their size and their market dominance to force out smaller players.
Ms. Pasher, I was very interested to hear about the U.S. model. I believe it's called the essential air service program. It almost hearkens back to the time before deregulation, when smaller regional routes were licensed to specific carriers by the federal government, and there were conditions based on service to those communities.
Of course, there's a certain amount of subsidy in this case to allow those carriers to make a business case, but it also ensures that they're providing an adequate level of service for those communities.
I'm wondering if any party submitted the U.S. Department of Transportation as a potential witness to share more information about that program.