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Results: 1 - 8 of 8
View Michael Kram Profile
CPC (SK)
Thank you very much, Mr. Chair.
My questions are for Mr. Sparling of Air North. I will confess that I've never been to Yukon Territory, but I hear it's beautiful. It's definitely on my bucket list of places to visit some day. I suspect that there may be other members of the committee who have never been to that region of the country either.
First of all, I was wondering if you could give the committee a better idea of what it means to the people of Yukon Territory to have their own regional airline to service their communities and meet their needs.
Joseph Sparling
View Joseph Sparling Profile
Joseph Sparling
2020-12-08 16:36
Well, in terms of airline economics, you've likely all heard people describing airlines as often running in a hub and spoke system. In a typical hub and spoke system, the cash tends to flow from the spoke to the hub.
In the case of Yukon, by making Yukon our hub, when Yukoners buy their travel locally their travel dollars stay in Yukon to support the local economy, and when visitors come to Yukon, their travel dollars flow into Yukon to support the local economy.
I don't know how familiar you are with territorial economics, but it costs about a billion and a half dollars a year to run the territory. We only generate $200 million to $300 million ourselves. The rest comes courtesy of southern taxpayers.
There's a lot of interest in making territories—our territory in particular—more self-sufficient, and by creating our own airline in Yukon, I think we've taken a big step in that direction. We have indigenous ownership with a 49% stake by the Vuntut Gwitchin First Nation.
One of the clauses in all of the Yukon first nation land claims settlements is a commitment by both the federal and the territorial governments to take steps to help first nations participate in the territorial economy. I think the investment in Air North north by the Vuntut Gwitchin was one of the first such investments made by a Yukon first nation. I think it's generally regarded as perhaps a great template of just how first nations can participate in the territorial economy.
View Michael Kram Profile
CPC (SK)
Yes. I was wondering if you could just speak a little bit more about the ownership structure of your airport and how it's particularly beneficial to making the north and Yukon Territory self-sufficient.
Joseph Sparling
View Joseph Sparling Profile
Joseph Sparling
2020-12-08 16:40
I'm sorry. Are you talking about the airport or the airline?
Joseph Sparling
View Joseph Sparling Profile
Joseph Sparling
2020-12-08 16:40
Employment.... With 1,500 local Yukon shareholders, that's between 1 in 15 and 1 in 20 Yukoners who has an equity stake in the airline. Our shareholders are our customers. When we hold our annual general meeting in our hangar, we get better than 10% of our shareholders showing up. I don't think General Motors does that well. Our shareholders are a very engaged and interested group of people.
The question of refunds came up. I'm surprised nobody's asked me. We live in a small community. We don't sell the middle seat on our flights, and we do give refunds to passengers who need them, but in our market, people are going to travel. Only about 15% of our cancellations have resulted in refund requests. We are very lucky in that most people are happy to accept vouchers or credit for future travel.
The big guys, the international carriers, have been hammered by a drop in demand. I sympathize with them. They're trying to stay afloat. We have it relatively easier here in that northerners have to travel. People travel back and forth for medical reasons. There's good cargo flow on our regional routes. Old Crow doesn't have a road, so all of the groceries, building materials, consumer goods, absolutely everything that goes into that community has to be flown in. There is, with or without a pandemic, a somewhat stable level of demand for air service. It's just not what it was this time last year.
View Maninder Sidhu Profile
Lib. (ON)
Thank you for that.
Mr. Sparling, I want to thank you for being here.
Regional connectivity is very, very important. It's not just about the connectivity; it's about learning about each other's cultures. Canada is a vast country, and we need to ensure that we're able to travel. I've never been to Yukon. I hope to come one day.
How much assistance have you received so far between the wage subsidy and financial assistance from the federal government through Yukon?
Joseph Sparling
View Joseph Sparling Profile
Joseph Sparling
2020-12-08 17:13
Through the end of September, we're at just over $7 million between the Canada emergency wage subsidy and the northern essential air services relief program. The majority of it is the Canada emergency wage subsidy funding. The Yukon government, in conjunction with the federal government, has a program for essential air services in the north, which we certainly have taken advantage of and are very thankful for.
Results: 1 - 8 of 8

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