Mr. Speaker, the Minister of Transport said yesterday that there was no hard evidence that the air security tax on plane tickets was hurting the short haul air industry. He is wrong.
WestJet has experienced a dramatic drop in passenger flights between Edmonton and Calgary, and Vancouver and Kelowna. It also recently withdrew service from Brandon.
Transwest has dropped all air service to Winnipeg, Brandon and Edmonton and cut capacity between Saskatoon and Regina by 50%. Jazz is dropping all service to St. Leonard, Yarmouth and Stephenville in January.
All three air carriers cite the $24 air tax as a dominant reason for their problems. That is the evidence. It is on the table. It is a fact.
Why will the government not listen to this fact or is it too busy collecting the revenue and ignoring the air industry and Canadians?