Air travel: the only transportation choice for Nunavik, roundtable hears

Nunavik’s regional and municipal leaders gather Sept. 18 at the Katittavik town hall in Kuujjuaq to provide input to a provincial roundtable on Quebec’s air travel industry, ahead of a provide-wide summit set for February 2018. (PHOTO COURTESY OF KRG)

Nunavik’s leadership used a Sept. 18 roundtable to try to convince Quebec officials that air travel is a crucial and essential service for the region’s 13,000 residents—and not a luxury.

Quebec’s Société du Plan Nord—the provincial agency that oversees development above the 55th parallel—and Quebec’s department of transport have hosted dozens of consultations across the province since May to understand the role of air transport in the various regions.

A Sept. 18 roundtable at Kuujjuaq’s Katittavik Town Hall was one of a number of preparatory meetings ahead of a Regional Air Transport Summit planned for early 2018 in Quebec City.

Those meetings touch on three main issues: air fare, quality of service and airport infrastructure.

Makivik Corp., as a representative of Nunavik Inuit and owner of the two airlines that service the region, highlighted the need for better investment in the region’s air network. First Air and Air Inuit connect Nunavik’s 14 communities to each other and to southern Quebec.

“Nunavimmiut are highly reliant on air transportation to move people, perishable foods and supplies,” Makivik said in a brief presented to the roundtable.

“Providing essential daily air service to all 14 communities spread over such a large area is costly. This situation increases the cost of living and limits economic development.”

Makivik noted a recent agreement between Nunavik and Quebec, which has seen the renovation and expansion of airport terminals and runways across the region over the last five years.

But more of Nunavik’s airports require runway extensions and paving to accommodate newer aircraft that are not designed to land on gravel, Makivik said.

The organization also called for:

• additional screening services in some of its airports, through the Canadian Air Transport Security Authority: Kuujjuaq and Kuujjuaraapik are the only two airports in the region that currently have screening stations which allow passengers to fly directly to Montreal. Transport Canada has agreed to look into installing a screening station at Puvirnituq’s airport after a number of requests;

• subsidies to cover the cost of fuel delivery to Nunavik: northern airlines already pay twice the price per litre of fuel than its southern counterparts, Makivik said; and,

• a revamp of Quebec’s Airfare Reduction Program which requires eligible passengers to pay up front, and wait to be reimbursed later, for 30 per cent of their airfare.

Makivik argued any improvements to air links to and from Nunavik will generate more economic development, including mining and tourism.

Those points weren’t lost on Guy Bourgeois, the Liberal MNA and parliamentary assistant to the Plan Nord who is co-chairing the air summit.

“Clearly, transportation is not a choice [for Nunavimmiut]—air travel is the only way,” said Bourgeois, following his visit to Kuujjuaq to which he travelled on a government charter.

“That’s the major difference from what we see in other areas.”

Despite recent upgrades, Bourgeois noted shortfalls in airport infrastructure in Nunavik compared to elsewhere in Quebec, including the quality of runways and technology used to assist in landing and weather forecasting.

Bourgeois said Quebec’s transport department has assumed most of the cost of the maintenance and operation of Nunavik airports but the federal government also has an obligation to contribute.

“That’s a huge problem if we don’t find a way to work with them to increase the capacity of these airports,” he said.

Consultations wrap up on Quebec’s North Shore this week. Bourgeois said the feedback gathered over the last few months will be included in a report and recommendations that will be made to the 2018 summit.

Nunavimmiut who missed the chance to take part in this week’s roundtable can send their thoughts on regional air travel to the summit by Oct. 9 by emailing sommetaerienregional@transports.gouv.qc.ca.

Quebec’s Regional Air Transport Summit is set to take place Feb. 2, 2018, at the Lévis Convention Centre just outside of Quebec City.