ASSOCIATION OF YUKON COMMUNITIES
SUBMISSION
STATUTORY REVIEW
CANADA TRANSPORT ACT
March 26, 2001.The Association of Yukon Communities wishes to thank the
Transportation Act Review Panel for this opportunity to provide
comments.
Members of the Association of Yukon Communities have reviewed the
Yukon Government’s Submission to the Panel and want to state their
support for the opinions provided in that submission. In addition, I want
to emphasize three main areas.
Regional Airports – the Canada Transportation Act (“CTA”) does not
address the provision of minimum levels of air service to the remote
regions of Canada. In the Yukon, the Watson Lake airport once accepted
daily jet service, but scheduled flights have not landed there in a number
of years. Medium sized passenger aircraft can be accommodated at the
Dawson City airport. The Panel should ensure that the Act addresses,
possibly through regulation, the provision of air service to regional
airports.
Costs – the variation in costs is a major concern to member
municipalities. All municipal services have an element of transportation
associated with it; whether that is truck or air-freight for supplies or
parts, travel for employees to attend southern training sessions, the
provision of an isolated post allowance to employees for travel to
southern Canada, or the use of professionals from the south to advise on
legal, financial or engineering matters. The CTA must ensure that pricing
for scheduled air service in the north is comparable to prices available to
southerners for comparable levels of service.
Associated with price is the certainty of scheduled flights and pricing.
Flight cancellations and unscheduled price increases impact on all
Yukoners. Attached to this submission, for your information, are two air
express bills of lading that illustrate an unannounced 27% price
increase.
Rail Transportation – all levels of government should participate with
the US government in the study of the Rails to Resources project, which
is considering the feasibility of a rail link between Alaska and British
Columbia, through the Yukon. This link could significantly reduce the
transportation costs for materials required in the Yukon and make the
export of products and resources more affordable.
I hope that you will consider these comments and, once again, I thank
you.