NNI continues to review Adlair appeal

Adlair Aviation Ltd. will have to wait until next month to learn the fate of its appeal with the Nunavummi Nangminiqaqtunik Ikajuuti office against a Government of Nunavut decision to give the Kitikmeot medevac contract to another airline.

The NNI Contracting Appeals Board met Sept. 12 and adjourned to Sept. 26 “at which time they will convene to review the matter and then will reconvene the hearing on Oct. 11,” said NNI executive co-ordinator Ron Dewar.

The GN decided in August to award the medevac contract in the Kitikmeot region to Yellowknife-based Air Tindi and its partner, Aqsaqniq, a private company headed by Dennis Lyall that also owns the Boothia Inn in Taloyoak.

A family-owned and operated business, with hangars in Cambridge Bay and Yellowknife, Adlair was established by renowned bush pilot Willy Laserich, a member of the Aviation Hall of Fame.

In response to the GN decision, an open Facebook group, called Adlair Aviation Medevac Contract Support Team, has formed to support Adlair’s retention of the contract.

The group has more than 400 members, including David Irquit of Taloyoak, who writes “Adlair Aviation is more than a Medevac, it was headed by a great man that helped Inuit and others through the years and he risked his own life to save others in the past. Willy Laserich is well respected and a legend to a lot of people. A lot of factors should be considered in my opinion, Adlair Aviation is a Kitikmeot Airline and hope they start a scheduled air service in the future.”

Some members of the group also sent condolences to Paul and René Laserich, who now operate Adlair, and their sisters on the Sept. 6 death of their mother Margaret Rose, 74, who was married to Willy Laserich for more than 50 years.

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