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The longer it takes to implement this program, the longer these regional communities will suffer
Mike McNaney, National Airlines Council
“The government has not provided a set time frame on when it plans to address the needs of the sector, but all aviation stakeholders believe action is urgently required now, given the industry continues to lose jobs and communities across the country are continuing to lose service and frequency,” said Mike McNaney, chief executive of the The National Airlines Council of Canada.
“The longer it takes to implement this program, the longer these regional communities will suffer the economic consequences caused by a lack of connectivity to the rest of the country and globally.”
McNaney said that in addition to financial supports, the industry is urging the federal government to lead, coordinate and deliver a national testing strategy at Canadian airports building on the pilot projects.
Livia Belcea, press secretary to transport minister Marc Garneau, told the Financial Post the government is “fully seized with the issue of how hard the air sector has been hit by COVID-19” and is committed “to providing assistance to Canada’s air sector, so that it may continue to serve every region across our country.”
She said the sector is a “critical” part of Canada’s economy, but declined to lay out a timeline for relief.One of Canada’s opposition parties, the Green Party of Canada, has opposed any taxpayer-funded relief unless travellers whose trips were cancelled due to COVID-19 are given full cash refunds rather than the standard practice of providing vouchers for future travel. While the government has not weighed in, WestJet indicated this month it will be contracting affected travellers and offering refunds in a process that is expected to take up to nine months.
