Airport fees draw more criticism
MLAs, chamber of commerce, question Transportation minister's support of fees that would raise ticket prices as much as $48 per flight
Jessica Davey-Quantick
Northern News Services
Tuesday, February 21, 2017
SOMBA K'E/YELLOWNIFE
Department of Transportation Minister Wally Schumann supports proposed changes to fees at the Yellowknife Airport, but not everyone is buying what he was selling.
The Standing Committee on Economic Development and Environment reported on its review of the proposed act that would create a revolving fund to support the Yellowknife Airport earlier this month. If passed, the bill would bring in increased fees for passengers flying through Yellowknife. - NNSL file photo
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The topic has come up multiple times during this session of legislative assembly, with MLAs such as Yellowknife North's Cory Vanthuyne, Kam Lake's Kieron Testart and Hay River North's R.J. Simpson questioning the proposed fee changes during question period in the legislative assembly.
Earlier this month, the Standing Committee on Economic Development and Environment reported on its review of the bill that will change the way the Yellowknife Airport is funded. If passed, Bill 7, an act to amend the Revolving Funds Act, would create a revolving fund of up to $36 million to support the Yellowknife Airport - and require the department to impose Airport Improvement Fees on flights through Yellowknife and increase aeronautical fees, in some instances by over 200 per cent. The end result would increase airfares by around $29 on each southbound trip, and $19 on flights within the NWT.
In the report, Vanthuyne notes passengers from remote communities might pay even more - with their fees rising by $48 - since they would have to pay both to arrive in Yellowknife from the south, and then to travel within the territory to their home community.
The fees would go into a dedicated revolving fund to support the airport. Currently, the GNWT subsidizes the Yellowknife airport to the tune of around $4 million a year.
In his statement, Schumann said these fees would bring Yellowknife in line with the rest of the country.
"We understand nobody likes to hear that their expenses are going to go up," he stated. "But the fact is that these fees are a normal cost of doing business at airports across Canada and around the world."
He added landing fees in Yellowknife are currently "only 25 per cent" of those at comparable airports in the South.
MLAs raised concerns about the impact these fees would have on the cost of living in the North, especially during a period the Committee on Economic Development and Environment described as economically "stagnated," with exploration and industrial activity across the territory slowing.
Vanthuyne urged Schumann to look at the effect the fees will have on the local economy and cost of living during question period on Feb. 17.
"I appreciate the sales pitch that the minister gave us," he said. "It relates to looking at the airport in a silo, but the question was more to do with the induced effects of such a charge."
Kam Lake MLA Kieron Testart also expressed doubt about value of the amendment, saying the government should retain the $4-million subsidy in order to "shield" Northerners from a cost of travel that is "already too high."
"We still have no clear plan for when the many improvements they are touting that will come out of these fees will actually roll out into the airport," he said in assembly Feb. 17. "It does appear again that we are taking an expensive piece of public infrastructure and putting it the costs on to consumers."
The debate wasn't restricted to members of the legislative assembly - the NWT & Nunavut Chamber of Mines stated in a news release on Feb. 16 it would not support the fees, describing it as a tax on the NWT minerals industry that would increase the cost to fly workers and materials into the territory. The chamber stated the fees could cost a mine as much as $500,000 a year.
"This is a dangerous and slippery slope," stated chamber president Gary Vivian in the release, adding the territory has lost $1 billion in exploration investment over the last eight years because of Northern challenges, and suggested that should the fee be approved, the minerals industry should be exempt from it.
"Each additional proposed cost signals a, 'We feel you should be able to manage this cost' attitude. You can only milk a cow so hard before she falters," he stated.
In the report, the committee is recommending a review the territorial government's Federal Engagement Strategy to include federal investment in air transportation as a priority, as well as pressing the federal government to invest in upgrades. The committee recommended the government provide a comprehensive response to the report within 120 days.
