The answer is yes. The thing I would compare it to is mobile data, Internet service. It's like people having access to high-speed Internet in their region. Is it a luxury for someone to have access to high-speed Internet in their region? No, it's an essential tool for people to connect with the rest of the province or country. The same goes for regional air transportation. Canada is a huge country with low population density.
I'll focus on Quebec. Trailing behind everyone else when it comes to regional air transportation comes at a cost. It affects our ability to take advantage of our territory and develop our regions. The current situation is destroying some industries. If people have to pay $500 or $1,000 in airfare to visit a region, it's a death knell for that region's tourism. With prices like that, the Gaspé, the north shore and northern Quebec will never be able to grow their tourism industries.
A number of options are possible. Is there a way to bring down the fees for the smaller airports? Is there a way to bring down Nav Canada's fees for regional routes? Keep in mind that price sensitivity plays a role in regional travel. If I pay $800 to fly to Paris on holiday and I have to pay a $35 airport improvement fee at the Montreal-Trudeau airport, I might not think that's a big deal. However, say I'm going to Gaspé for the weekend and my ticket is going to cost $300 or $400, and then I have to pay a $150 airport improvement fee. Relative to the ticket price, the airport improvement fee is way too high. The air carrier can't do it.