Published March 6, 2024

Nelson Sergerie

GASPÉ – The Government of Quebec continues to search for the right solution to provide the regions with air transportation services and, in that regard, the Air Transport Committee held a meeting on February 20 in Quebec City.

The president of the committee on air transportation within the Union of Quebec Municipalities and the mayor of Gaspé, Daniel Côté, is starting to get the impression that the solutions are not forthcoming.
“It appears that we are always at the mercy of what carriers want and can offer us as a service. It appears that the clientele is not always there. In Gaspé, there has been a fairly pronounced drop in customers over the last few months because there is still uncertainty,” says Daniel Côté.

The $500 program or the 30% discount on tickets does not seem to reflect reality. “This program seems too complicated, so it ran out of $500 tickets. And few people apply for reimbursement because people don’t know about this program. In short, there are plenty of problems,” notes the mayor.

Yves Montigny, who chairs the Quebec government committee, and is the Member of the National Assembly for René-Lévesque, is aware of the problem.

Mr. Montigny mentions that, in January, ticket sales increased by 30% in several destinations in Quebec, but admits at the same time that Gaspé has not experienced this growth.

“The PAAR program (Regional Air Access Program) is having an effect, but it is not having an effect everywhere. We see it in Gaspé, Mont-Joli and Baie-Comeau where we must adapt it. We want to improve it to ensure better service and better frequency,” says Mr. Montigny, who believes that the program must be revised.

“We want to ensure that the changes we are going to make correspond to the real needs of Quebec citizens. We are in consultations,” he said.

According to Mr. Côté, the Quebec Government intends to adopt an air strategy. The mayor suggests using Premier François Legault’s idea, who mentioned a possible solution during his visit to Gaspé last November. At the time the premier had promised seven days a week service imposed on carriers by the government, in each region of Quebec with tickets at $500 round trip and that the province would subsidize the deficits.

“I say it clearly, even if it doesn’t make the carriers happy, I expect that Mr. Legault’s promise materializes,” states the mayor.

“What the Premier said in Gaspé makes a lot of sense. We are working on that. We are working to have regular service to major airports in Quebec,” says Mr. Montigny.

“We are working to put in place means to find a way with one or more carriers so that services can be improved in the coming weeks and months,” specifies Mr. Montigny.

However, it remains to be seen what the carriers will do as Mr. Côté notes that they do not want to have anything imposed on them.

“We have to be able to agree because the Quebec government has decided to take on this important issue. There is also an important issue. This must be done with companies because it is private companies that transport. You have to get along with them. It’s not always easy. We have the same objective of finding common ground with businesses to better serve important destinations which have experienced a drop in traffic,” indicates Mr. Montigny.

For its part, the Parti Québécois is once again calling for a real plan to ensure effective air services for the regions of Quebec.

The Parti Québécois transport spokesperson, Joël Arseneau, notes that the government still has no vision. “If we don’t know the objective to achieve, obviously the means will not follow and we have the results that we see today. It has never been so bad in air transportation,” notes the opposition representative.

According to Mr. Arseneau, the $500 ticket program is not working, as he’s noted a visible decrease in ridership, particularly in Gaspé. Out of a target of 166,000 tickets, only 73,000 tickets were sold in two years.

The elected official notes that the Air Transport Committee set up by the CAQ is not working. “At each meeting, we go around the table and it’s like going in circles because everyone’s interests don’t align perfectly. The government is not capable of getting the best from its participants,” adds the MNA for the Magdalen Islands.

Air transportation has been the subject of reflection since February 2018, when Philippe Couillard’s Liberal government held the first forum on the issue.

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