Thank you, Mr. Chair.

I thank the members of the committee for giving us the opportunity today to share our comments on this important issue of regional air transportation.

I'd like to point out that the members of the Unions des municipalités du Québec represent 85% of Quebec's population and territory. We've been active for over a century already.

First of all, I'd like to talk about the importance of regional air transportation. It's an essential service for land use and the development of Quebec and its regions. In addition to having a major impact on mobility, this service plays a critical role in local and regional economic and tourism development, as well as on access by residents to health and other services in urban centres.

Regional air transportation in Quebec is currently going through some tough times. To fully understand the situation, let's look at a few key facts. Before 2020, Air Canada had a virtual monopoly on regional services. Naturally, this quasi-monopoly guaranteed reliable service, but it was associated with high ticket costs for travellers.

In June 2020, Air Canada announced the suspension of eight regional routes in Quebec. This announcement sent shockwaves through the industry. Since then, Air Canada's presence in the regions has steadily declined. Today, six carriers share service to Quebec airports in addition to Air Canada. They're all small players with limited resources and a limited number of aircraft. This situation has created new challenges for ensuring reliable, affordable service.

We deplore the absence of the federal government in this matter, despite the fact that air transportation is first and foremost a federal responsibility. Allow me to present you with three current challenges facing regional air transportation in Quebec, along with our recommendations.

The first challenge is the lack of services available and inadequate services. There are frequent delays and flights are often postponed or cancelled. What's more, current flight schedules don't meet users' needs either, making regional air transportation even less attractive.

To improve the situation, our first recommendation is to strengthen the federal government's commitment and give priority to improving regional air service. If the federal government can already recognize the importance of good rail service and invest significant sums each year to ensure affordable service, even in remote regions, we believe that regional air transportation also deserves a similar commitment to priorities because many communities in Quebec and Canada are without rail service and sometimes even roads. Therefore, air transportation has a role to play.

The second challenge is affordability and high ticket costs. Although financial incentives are now being offered by the Quebec government and there's been some competition since 2020, it remains a delicate balance.

It's essential to modernize and completely overhaul the operational and regulatory framework for regional air transportation. The Union des municipalités du Québec, or UMQ, and several other partners such as the Alliance de l'industrie touristique du Québec, the Conseil du patronat du Québec and the Fédération des chambres de commerce du Québec, have proposed moving from the current open competition model to a regulated competitive model using private carriers. This new model would allow competition for contracts, while maintaining oversight by a management body. Each region would be able to participate in shaping services to ensure that air services truly meets its own specific needs. Changing the model would require legislative and regulatory changes at the federal level, with the collaboration of the province.

A third new challenge concerns the services provided by Nav Canada, the agency that manages control towers for the federal government. Indeed, a labour shortage has led to a reduction in the services provided by Nav Canada, resulting in occasional service disruptions or the provision of remote services from another airport. This has operational consequences on the airports affected.

The federal government must therefore guarantee the continuity and efficiency of air traffic control services at regional airports, in collaboration with Nav Canada. It must also fund Nav Canada, rather than passing the bill on to carriers and, ultimately, passengers, via ticket prices.

Finally, it's crucial to stress the need for massive investment in airport infrastructure. While the federal government's airports capital assistance program (ACAP) does exist, it needs to be improved. First of all, the budget envelope is largely insufficient to meet needs. What's more, the reference amounts for the purchase of mobile equipment do not reflect the real costs of this type of equipment, which have skyrocketed since the pandemic and the onset of a tide of inflation.

If we were to implement all these solutions, we're convinced that regional air transportation would improve, at least in Quebec.

Thank you for your attention.