(April 10, 2013) - Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen, and thank you for the opportunity to be a part of this, the 37th Annual General Meeting and Conference of the Northern Air Transport
Association. It is a privilege to be with you today as you seek to improve the effectiveness, efficiency, and safety of the northern aviation industry. Your discussions on issues such as airline safety, airport efficiency, and cargo security are timely and needed to respond to the growing challenges facing northern aviation.
Since the mid-1970s, northerners have played an increasingly important role in the economy of Canada, with oil and gas exploration, mineral development, and billions of dollars in diamond production establishing a foundation of growth and prosperity for the North, one that benefits all Canadians. As you well know, northern aviation has, for close to a century, played a pivotal role in laying that foundation. And NATA continues to reflect the best of northern aviation.
The GNWT Department of Transportation and our counterparts in Yukon and Nunavut are the operators of the North’s regional and community airports, and I am proud to speak on behalf of the many fine women and men who deliver services at each northern airport. Our airport communities reflect the communities they serve, and are an essential part of the future growth and prosperity of the North.
As Minister, I have also heard the concerns of this industry. The Department of Transportation is always looking for ways to improve our community and regional airport system and our airport infrastructure. Part of that effort is to work closely with our federal counterparts to enhance the way the industry is regulated, as well as the way improvements are funded. We know that strategic investments in transportation infrastructure pay dividends, both now and in the future.
We continue to examine ways to prepare for the effects of climate change on airport runways and infrastructure. We are identifying options to address the issues of aging airport infrastructure. We know that each time we improve northern transportation, we improve the economic sustainability of the North.
By way of contrast, an unnecessarily heavy regulatory burden weighs down the northern aviation industry. As federal Minister Steven Fletcher has acknowledged, cumbersome, redundant, and outdated regulations get in the way of airline efficiency, and airport operational effectiveness, and may not offer the best bang for the buck in terms of northern aviation safety.
I applaud the federal commitment to reduce regulatory requirements which create barriers to economic growth and prosperity. This is of particular importance in the North. Northern aviation requires a different approach from Canada’s aviation industry as a whole. Every proposed regulatory change should balance costs with benefits to ensure that the unique requirements of northern aviation are fully taken into account.
For example, I understand that the proposal to mandate longer Runway End Safety Areas at all sites with runways 1200 metres or longer would cost in excess of 40 million dollars over more than five years, with far less improvement in safety than other available options. In a number of communities, declared runway distances could be reduced to the point where existing aircraft are unable to operate. I am hopeful that the feedback the federal government has received on this proposal has impressed on them that there are more cost-effective ways to improve airport safety, particularly in remote areas.
Equally important is that this proposal did not carry with it the promise of added federal funding. Unfunded mandates such as this have the effect of driving up costs or reducing other necessary investments without a proportionate improvement in safety.
And Transport Canada’s “one size fits all” approach to safety management systems, where the documentation requirements for Sachs Harbour are the same as for Pearson International, needs to be reconsidered. SMS is an example of a good program that was put in place without adequate thought for how it would be paid for, and how it could be scaled for size, location, and activity.
Similarly, regulations requiring a full-scale emergency exercise at each certified airport every four years, and a full airport audit on a three year cycle, has the effect of doubling our compliance costs. Harmonization of audit and emergency exercise cycles is needed to improve operational efficiency and reduce costs of compliance while still ensuring safety.
I note as well that Transport Canada faces challenges in being able to staff a sufficient number of qualified inspectors for approvals. This can cause delays and increased costs, neither of which the northern aviation industry can afford.
An example of these delays is the difficulties that have been encountered in issuing the 5th edition of TP312 Aerodrome Standards and Recommended Practices. This document is badly needed to support ongoing airport capital development projects, but is now expected to be further delayed until late 2014 or even later.
The bottom line is that prescriptive regulations that aren’t performance-based don’t improve safety or effectiveness. They just add costs and inefficiencies. Minister Fletcher’s initiative to reduce the regulatory burden seems to recognize this.
We need to allow northern airport operators and airlines to establish processes and procedures to meet identified objectives. Our aviation industry needs to adapt its process for its own conditions, not the conditions of larger operations in the south.
Your Executive Director recently called for a separate northern Airport Capital Assistance Program, and I support that proposal. We need increased federal investment to support a transition to paved and longer runways, address climate change, better approach lighting, and a broader range of qualified capital projects and it should not be limited to certified airports. Separate funding and partnerships with NAV Canada should also be considered for automated weather observations systems, GPS approaches and improved navigational aids.
That is not to say that we are to sit idle, waiting for federal contributions to increase. Using other federal government funding programs combined with GNWT contributions, the Government of Northwest Territories has invested in airport infrastructure in places such as Fort Good Hope, Tuktoyaktuk, Paulatuk, and Sachs Harbour.
The GNWT Department of Transportation, with funding support from the federal government, recently opened a new airport in Colville Lake, one with a longer runway. This is the first new airport in the Northwest Territories in more than 15 years.
And construction continues at our other new airport, at Trout Lake, with work expected to be completed in the next year.
With a new lighting system installed at Jean Marie River, all NWT airports are now equipped with fixed lighting.
And we are working with NAV Canada to help smooth the way to the implementation of automated weather observation systems in the North.
We are making investments in other transportation infrastructure as well - roads such as the Inuvik to Tuktoyaktuk all-season highway, or bridges such as the Deh Cho Bridge.
We continue to plan for transportation system improvements such as the portion of the Mackenzie Valley Highway project from Wrigley to the Dempster.
The North’s transportation system is critical to our future, and we must all share in the responsibility of delivering a safe, effective, and efficient system.
That is why the Governments of Yukon, Northwest Territories, and Nunavut created a multi-modal transportation blueprint for the North that recognized the need for a secure, long-term funding framework for northern transportation infrastructure that takes into account our unique needs and priorities. National investments in northern transportation infrastructure benefit all Canadians, and we will continue to pursue the resources needed to ensure that our support for northern aviation can continue.
What does the future hold? The coming year will see an increased focus on regulatory reform, community capacity building, maximizing the existing infrastructure investment, and exploring opportunities to increase our level of service to our industry partners. Our Safety Management System program is fully developed, and we are focused on continuous improvement, particularly in the areas of quality assurance and emergency planning.
We will continue to identify ways to align our activities with the needs of the aviation industry in ways that improve your ability to serve the people of the North.
I am impressed as well by the investments being made by many members of your association in new and more fuel-efficient aircraft and expanded routes. In my view, the key to the success of the northern aviation industry has been its willingness to adapt to ever-changing conditions.
For some, that has meant larger planes and fleets to carry more people and cargo, while for others the emphasis is on fuel efficiency. Further investments are being made to improve safety and efficiency.
Northerners are being well-served by this industry, and I commend you for the ways you are seeking to continually improve, to prepare for a bright and prosperous future.
Part of that future is the addition of young women and men into the aviation industry. I want to acknowledge the success of the Aviation Career Development Program which began as a partnership that this association supported from the very beginning. For more than a decade, close to one half million dollars has been distributed to northerners wanting to pursue a northern aviation career, and ACDP is now offering scholarships to those entering training for the aviation industry across the Northwest Territories and Nunavut.
Similarly, the Kenn Borek scholarship provides a worthy recipient with assistance in joining this industry, and we will hear more on that this evening.
Thank you to ACDP’s corporate sponsors – Discovery Air, North Wright Airways, Keewatin Air, and First Air, partnering with the GNWT Department of Transportation and the Government of Nunavut to invest in the people who are the future of this industry.
I encourage young women in particular to consider a future in northern aviation. The opportunities are certainly there, as everyone in this room can attest.
Thank you as well to those who invest in our young people by offering work experience and long-term employment. Each of our ACDP partners has committed to providing employment opportunities to those who have taken the initiative to work in northern aviation, and I suspect that within the next five years, we will have many more northerners filling the roles of pilots and mechanics, managers and planners. Our people can fill the jobs that your industry needs to fill, and I encourage you to partner with us, with our Aboriginal organizations and governments, and with our communities to accelerate that day when it will be the norm for the northern aviation industry to be comprised predominately of northerners.
Your industry will continue to be an important part of the North’s prosperous future. Mahsi, and thank you once again for this opportunity to take part in your conference.