Preserving a vital lifeline through the COVID-19 pandemic

As a 100 per cent Inuit-owned airline, Canadian North has been pleased to see a heightened awareness of long-standing issues that negatively impact the lives of Inuit and Northerners across Inuit Nunangat. This includes infrastructure gaps, housing shortages, food insecurity and health care inaccessibility, all of which are tied to the availability of safe and reliable transportation which other Canadians take for granted. Canadian North’s ownership, Makivik Corporation and the Inuvialuit Regional Corporation, understand that strong transportation links are essential to the health and well-being of Inuit. That is why they have chosen to invest in our airline as well as other regional air carriers and transportation providers. Inuit alone cannot afford to build and maintain the northern transportation network and so we are depending on the Government of Canada to demonstrate leadership and invest in transportation and supply chain improvements that are necessary to give Inuit and Northerners the same quality of life enjoyed by other Canadians. Canadian North Airlines has a very unique perspective on this. We are one of Canada’s oldest airlines, and this is our 75th year of continuous operation. We serve an incredibly small and widely dispersed customer base, which represents less than one per cent of Canada’s population distributed across almost 40 per cent of Canada’s landmass. The 21 of the 25 communities within our northern network have no road or year-round marine access to the rest of the country, so air service is not a luxury for our people and customers—it is a vital link that touches all aspects of their lives. Every day, our customers depend on us to move people, food, medicine, clothing, household supplies, building materials, parts for essential municipal equipment and vehicles (such as power generators, water trucks and emergency vehicles) and other important goods, and to connect them with the same medical care and government services that other Canadians often take for granted. The current drinking water crisis in Iqaluit is just one of many examples where we have quickly stepped in to help respond to an emergency—in this case, transporting planeloads of bottled water to Iqaluit until water service can be restored. The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic has reinforced the importance of northern air service and Canadian North Airlines has been proud to work with our federal, territorial and regional government partners to support public health efforts, deliver shipments of vaccines and ensure all essential passenger and cargo needs are met across Inuit Nunangat. We are extremely grateful for the essential air service funding that the Federal, Territorial and Regional governments have made available to Canadian North and other northern air carriers. This support has enabled us to continue to serve everyone who has depended on us throughout the pandemic, amidst continually changing travel bans and restrictions and unprecedented low demand for passenger travel. We are optimistic that we will see a gradual recovery, however, the emergence of new COVID-19 waves, more contagious variants and the continuation of travel restrictions and bans in our northern network are continuing to affect passenger demand. We also expect that mandatory vaccination mandates for travellers will hinder passenger travel until Canadians fully adjust to them. We are clearly not through this crisis yet and expect that the same level of essential air service funding will be required for the remainder of 2021 and also for 2022. To be clear, Canadian North Airlines cannot afford to subsidize essential air services across its vast network during this crisis or at any other point in time. It is crucial for the Government of Canada to honour its mandate to ensure the health and well-being of all Canadians, including Inuit and Northerners. With that in mind, we sincerely thank the Federal, Territorial and Regional governments for their continued support of this vital lifeline at a time when it is urgently needed. Johnny Adams is executive chairman of Canadian North Airlines. The Hill Times

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Preserving a vital lifeline through the COVID-19 pandemic

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