Transport committee  No. The aircraft we have are quite old. To upgrade those is economically just not feasible for us right now, given the seats that are on the aircraft. Getting those tools would be extremely beneficial, with the number of weather cancellations we have in a month. I want to go back to the medevac flights you're speaking of.

Transport committee  Yes, and there's a difference. The medevac can fly because it's medical, but the medical patients on my aircraft, who can only get there on our aircraft, are not considered medevac.

Transport committee  Absolutely. What's the difference between this and that?

Transport committee  I'll go into the crew duty first. I'll use Baffin Island as an example. If we have five extra medical passengers out of Iqaluit and want to go to Qikiqtarjuaq, adding that stop eliminates three hours automatically. It's only a 40-minute layover, but it immediately sets us back by three hours.

Transport committee  Absolutely.

Transport committee  Nunavik alone has 15. We only service one of those. I can't give you an exact number as to how many are....

Transport committee  In the 25 communities, we have 130,000 people. As I mentioned, that's equal to one city here down south. A lot of those...I'm from Kuujjuaq. It's a jet service, and there are 3,000 people.

Transport committee  I think it's recognizing the realities that we have. The regulations that are in place don't recognize those. We face an average of 175 weather cancellations a month, with a big part of it in Baffin Island. Our closest airport from Iqaluit is an hour away on a jet, and an hour and a half away on an ATR.

Transport committee  Flying to Qikiqtarjuaq in the middle of winter, I think you would recognize the hardships that we face. Policies that are created without realizing the realities that we face have been really challenging for us. Include our voice in the decisions that are being made, because we know the north and the rural communities the best.

Transport committee  We have 21 that are isolated with no road access. We service 25 communities in the Arctic, but 21 of them are isolated. The only way in is by our aircraft.

Transport committee  I'm going to use Cambridge Bay as an example. We needed a gravel kit-equipped jet to be able to land there. We had to retire that Boeing 737-200 because it was a one-off in our fleet, but also because they no longer produce the parts you need to be able to operate. The only thing that could replace that service going into Cambridge Bay was two ATRs—one passenger and one freighter—so that's two different kinds of aircraft that are going now at the cost of the one Boeing 737-200 that we had prior.

Transport committee  Absolutely. We operate in a very unique environment, and the regulatory policies we have in place do not contribute to the success that we have. The APPR and the pilot and crew duty limitations have heavily impacted what we are able to fly in a day, in comparison to what we were doing two years ago.

Transport committee  I'm going to use Qikiqtarjuaq as an example. The communities that you guys are talking about actually have road access. Mine don't, so it heavily impacts how many people and how much cargo we can bring into the community. Qikiqtarjuaq hasn't had fuel quality assurance since December, so we've had to take extra fuel from Iqaluit in order to land there, which bumps bags and passengers.

Transport committee  Do you have a number?

Transport committee  [Witness spoke in Inuktitut and provided the following text:] Ullukut angayurqaat ammalu purtunirsauqatitit. [Witness provided the following translation:] Good afternoon, honourable Chair and esteemed members of the committee. [English] Thank you for the opportunity to speak today.