Transport committee  Quebec's various programs have never resolved the regional flight issues, despite its good intentions. Each investment has resolved the issue only for a limited time. The Quebec government recently launched a program to provide $500 airline tickets. In the end, the results showed that it was a failure.

Transport committee  Not really.

Transport committee  Thank you for your question, Mr. Iacono. First, the goal isn't to assign blame to any particular government. You're right. Here in Canada, the issue is endemic. It has been going on for some time. My colleague, Mr. Gradek, provided a brief history of the situation.

Transport committee  For at least three decades, successive Canadian governments have failed to fulfill the role that they could have played in improving the situation. I can say that. Why am I making this statement? You're right to say that everyone wants to make money. However, if you look closely at the situation, Lufthansa is making money, and German airports are well managed.

Transport committee  I have been working on this for a number of years and I agree with what my colleague Mr. Gradek said. The problem with this model is that air travel is considered a goal in terms of regional development. I think that is misguided. In the Scandinavian model, that dynamic is actually reversed.

Transport committee  I completely agree with my colleague, Mr. Roy. I would add that we have to consider the user-pay principle very broadly. We also have to remember that air travel is generally a productive sector. For every dollar invested in the sector, two, three or four dollars go back into the economy.

Transport committee  As my colleague Mr. Roy just said, weakening a national company is not a good idea. It naturally has a major presence in all countries. The question we have to ask is what we are doing to make room for competition and other options. Canada does not have a national strategy for the airline industry, so it improvises.

Transport committee  Among national companies, British Airways has sustained operations at Heathrow in London; in Frankfurt, it is Lufthansa; at the Roissy airport, it is Air France. These companies are very important. I don't think there is a threshold. What we have to consider is the effect it has.

Transport committee  Thank you for your question. First, I want to pick up on the lack of consistency. On the one hand, people have been saying for years that there is no competition, while on the other hand, company mergers have been accepted. For example, WestJet's purchase of Sunwing was approved.

Transport committee  You are absolutely right, sir. This problem is primarily related to taxes. The philosophy here in Canada is to tax the user‑payer. I think that's a very bad philosophy. If we taxed airlines and passengers to try and provide adequate infrastructure, I might even say that it's for a good cause, but that's not even the case.

Transport committee  Good morning. Thank you very much for inviting me to participate in this meeting. I agree with everything my colleague and friend Mr. Gradek said and with what my colleague Dr. Roy said. At the observatory, we look at the Canadian situation, of course, but also the global situation.