Madam Speaker, it is interesting that the member points to the United States as the model for transportation: A country that is the global epicentre of the virus with an uncontrolled spread.
Since the outbreak of COVID-19, the Government of Canada, public health officials, health authorities and the Canadian air industry, including operators, airports and labour groups, have worked collaboratively to implement measures that reduce the spread of the virus.
In August, Transport Canada released Canada's flight plan for navigating COVID-19, demonstrating to the Canadian public the extensive measures the aviation industry and the Government of Canada had implemented in response to the pandemic. In support of the flight plan, we are working to identify additional priority measures, such as safe contactless processing of passengers and testing procedures to enable the safe restart of the aviation sector, as well as establishing a framework for COVID-19 testing of air travellers.
Transport Canada is also working closely with other federal partners to explore risk-based opportunities that will allow Canada to reopen its borders. This includes implementing a sustainable approach to reducing public health risks today, and building resilience to safeguard the system against similar risks in the future. These approaches will help rebuild public confidence in the safety of our air travel.
Preventing the spread of the pandemic has been and remains the government's top priority. The various regulatory requirements that were put in place will likely remain for the foreseeable future. However, there is room for adjustment to better support the restart of the air sector. Transport Canada will be actively assessing orders that have been issued to see what can be done, and will be consulting with industry on possible amendments.
We recognize that the virus and public health measures have resulted in a dramatic reduction in passengers and a significant financial input packed on operators throughout the air sector. This means that revenues are greatly reduced and the sector cannot operate in the same manner as it did prior to the pandemic. Operators have done a lot to manage their costs, with over 50% layoffs across the industry, as well as other reduced operating and capital costs. Appreciating the situation faced by operators, we continue to engage with stakeholders to fully understand the challenges and assess their solutions.
The government has already taken some important steps. In March, we waived rent for airport authorities that have ground leases with the federal government, thus removing some costs from the system. We have provided funding to ensure air service to remote communities with the $17.3 million in April for the territories alone, and up to an additional $174 million in August.
The government has also launched several broad economic measures the air industry has been able to benefit from, most notably the Canadian emergency wage subsidy, which has been widely utilized by the air sector to the benefit of both employers and employees. To date, this has provided over $1 billion in relief to the industry.
The government will continue its important engagement with stakeholders and partners as we work to address challenges faced by the air sector in Canada today and to ensure we have a strong industry into the future.