Nelson Sergerie, LJI Journalist
observer for 40 years and someone who has been in charge of the Rocher-Percé and Town of Gaspé airports, Gaétan Lelièvre believes that the adjustments coming in February to the Regional Air Access Program will provide little to no benefits to passengers.
Since the first summit on air transport in February 2018, held in Lévis under the Liberal government of Philippe Couillard, the former Minister Delegate for Regions under the Marois government and Member of the National Assembly for Gaspé believes that little progress has been made.
“Absolutely not, or minimally. Ways to see progress would be to have an accessible and affordable service, which is not the case. From the moment you don’t have a service that is accessible seven days a week, reliable, at an affordable price, I don’t think there is any significant progress for the citizens of the regions,” analyzes Mr. Lelièvre.
However, he acknowledges one positive aspect, travellers no longer need to pass through Quebec City and Montreal to be eligible for the discount.
“But, in practice, there is no carrier that provides a connection between Gaspé and the Côte-Nord, Gaspé and Abitibi or Gaspé and Saguenay-Lac-Saint-Jean. Yes, we are giving access to a discount for an interregional trip without going through the metropolis or the capital, but will there be carriers that will develop these markets? That remains to be seen. That is the only element that could be positive about the announcement,” mentions Mr. Lelièvre.
“With the current carriers, it is very unlikely that we will develop these lines. We will have to consider cooperative-style formulas where the regions will be involved, where the government will support these initiatives with a view to regional development and land use and not just to make profits,” adds the regional development consultant.
He does not sense any government will to support initiatives like TREQ or the idea of a cooperative mentioned by the managers of the Mont-Joli Airport.
“There isn’t any concrete action by the government to support this type of initiative. On the contrary, when we look at the announcements, it is a step backwards in terms of service. The $500 tickets are disappearing. We are told that we will have, for example, in Gaspé a 50% discount. I looked on Pascan’s website and, at a regular price, we have a Gaspé-Montreal at $1,500 and with the 50% discount, that comes to $750 that users will have to pay, unlike the old program that offered tickets when there were availabilities at $500,” calculates the former elected official.
“What is absurd is that the minister hopes that, with these changes, ridership will increase. I cannot understand this logic, which only applies to the government. We increase prices, we do not improve the service and we think we will increase the clientele? I have rarely heard that. It is a unicorn world,” he says.
Mr. Lelièvre also mentions a study conducted by the Institute for Research in Contemporary Economics (IREC). In that study, Quebec ranked tenth (last place) for air transportation in Canada.
“New Brunswick, with its 800,000 inhabitants, is managing to hold its own. Do we like to compare ourselves with Ontario? We are not just behind Ontario, we are behind the nine Canadian provinces. This demonstrates the need to prioritize this issue. Unfortunately, this does not seem to have been the case for several years and it is not just the fault of the current government. The problem has been in place for years,” concludes Mr. Lelièvre.