Transport Committee on Jan. 12th, 2023

[Annie Koutrakis, Liberal, Vimy, QC]

Would all of you say that your experience communicating with either the minister or his team has been positive, or do you think something more could have been done that perhaps was not done?

Does anyone want to answer?

[Philippe Rainville]

We are autonomous. Our operations run continuously, all day, all week and all year long.

Of course, this is mostly between federal agencies. The role of government is to set policy. We are accountable with regard to our lease and so forth, but in terms of the day-to-day operation, clearly that takes place between us and the airlines.

[The Chair, Liberal, Peter Schiefke]

Unfortunately, there seems to be no interpretation. We'll check it out.

[Philippe Rainville]

Yes.

I was just saying that it's not between us and Transport Canada when we have an operational issue; it's between us, the airlines and the federal agencies. I wouldn't call the minister if I had an operational issue. That's not why the minister is there; he is there to give us regulations and look over our shoulder on our lease agreement.

[The Chair, Liberal, Peter Schiefke]

Thank you very much, Ms. Koutrakis.

There are two rounds of questions and answers left, each lasting two and a half minutes, and may I add that the interpretation is working again.

Ms. Vignola, you have the floor for two and a half minutes.

[Julie Vignola, Bloc, Beauport—Limoilou, QC]

Thank you very much, Mr. Chair.

I will address the same question, first to the representatives of Aéroports de Montréal, and then to the representatives of the Vancouver Airport Authority and the Greater Toronto Airport Authority.

Whether in the context of your statements or responses that have been provided, you have all talked about investments to be made and improvements to be made. What improvements do you see that still need to be made, whether it's at Montréal-Trudeau Airport, Vancouver Airport or Toronto Airport?

Will some form of support be required and, if so, what?

[Philippe Rainville]

As mentioned earlier, we may have less need for the Government of Canada and Transport Canada on a day-to-day basis. On the investment side, however, it is clear that we will need support. Every one of us has pointed that out.

Every airport has its challenges. On the Montreal side, they are multiple, whether it's the city side or the air side. The network and the parking lots need to be redone. We need capacity on the air side. And, as with all airports, it's not immediate. We can't specify our funding needs for today or tomorrow. We need to prepare plans for the years ahead.

In the case of Montreal, the problem is not a lack of capacity on the runway side. It's just that, in order to be able to take full advantage of the runways we have in Montreal, we will need support for the rest of the infrastructure.

[Julie Vignola, Bloc, Beauport—Limoilou, QC]

Do you want to answer the question, Ms. Vrooman?

[Tamara Vrooman]

Certainly, we have submitted a proposal to Transport Canada that asks for the rent that we pay annually to the government...in our case, it's about $60 million a year...to be freed up for reinvestment in infrastructure. In our case, that would be infrastructure related to ongoing climate mitigation and climate goals. It would also be expanding our cargo operations and supporting digitized processes that will allow us to communicate more effectively with carriers and passengers.

[Deborah Flint]

Similarly, I would make the point that passengers want a modernized experience that's digital and biometrically enabled for their choice, similar to what's available in the United States and in Europe, as well as continued investment in major infrastructure, as I pointed out earlier.

[The Chair, Liberal, Peter Schiefke]

Thank you very much, Ms. Vignola.

Finally, we have Mr. Bachrach.

Mr. Bachrach, the floor is yours. You have two and a half minutes.

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

Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Ms. Vrooman, earlier you said that food and beverages could have been transferred to the aircraft if a request had been received from the airlines but that no request was received. I'm wondering two things.

First of all, logistically, how would YVR get food and beverage to the aircraft for the passengers who were stranded on the tarmac?

Second, given that YVR was acutely aware that there were planes with passengers stranded on board for 11 hours, was an offer ever made by YVR to the airlines to resupply food and beverage on board?

[Tamara Vrooman]

Thank you.

We certainly were in constant communication with all of the airlines throughout that period, as I said, starting on the 18th and all the way through the week. We would have assessed, had we been asked, the situation, as we would have any medical evacuation, which someone asked about earlier. Depending on the location of the aircraft and the conditions around it, we'd have trained emergency personnel who could provide.

We certainly were constantly asking what support they needed, and the airlines were saying uncategorically they needed access to the gates, so that was our priority.

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

Ms. Vrooman, it seems as though we have a situation here in which the resilience plans of the airport really fell down under the pressure of this extreme weather event.

I'm curious about the role of the federal government. Are there federal regulations to ensure operational resilience during extreme weather events and should those regulations be revisited in light of what happened at YVR?

[Tamara Vrooman]

Certainly we have regulations that govern safety for irregular operations. I think what we're seeing here and the changes that we've made already in advance of our full review speak to the fact that in irregular operations there need to be clear authority and communication around demand management, around reduced flight schedules, and around capacity in order to ensure that this capacity is made available as predicted in the plan.

We certainly see opportunities for clarity on policy and regulation that focus on those areas.

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

Thank you.

[The Chair, Liberal, Peter Schiefke]

Thank you very much, Mr. Bachrach.

Once again, I want to thank all of our witnesses for appearing either in person or by video conference and for adding their testimony to our ongoing study.

With that, this meeting is adjourned.