Remote Air Services Program (RASP)
LOCATION: NATIONAL
Issue/Source: SUPPORT FOR SMALL AIR CARRIERS SERVING REMOTE COMMUNITITES DUE TO IMPACTS FROM THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC
Date: March 17, 2021
Suggested Responses
- On August 6, 2020, the Government announced funding of up to $174M over 18 months to ensure continued essential air access to remote communities to address the impact of COVID-19 pandemic.
- The funding will be provided to Provinces, Territories and Indigenous Governments through bilateral agreements to complement funding mechanisms that they have implemented, or will be implementing to flow funding to air carriers providing air service to remote communities.
- Without this support, residents of 140 remote communities across Canada relying on air service as the only year-round transportation mode could find themselves without access to essential goods and services (e.g. medical visits and personnel, food, first responders) because other travel alternatives are non-existent, impossible. It is not intended to address any service cuts for regional routes.
BACKGROUND INFORMATION
- RASP was designed to provide transitory funding to jurisdictions where the level of funding declines over a series of three phases (each 6 months in length), beginning with phase 1 between July and December 2020. Allocation of funding for phase 2 (January to June 2021) and for phase 3 (July to December 2021).
- To date, funding agreements have been signed with all three Territories (Northwest Territories, Nunavut and the Yukon and four Provinces (British Columbia, Manitoba, Ontario, Saskatchewan. An agreement with Quebec is finalized and is anticipated to be signed by the mid April.
- TC continues to engage with the Province of Alberta and the Regional Indigenous Governments, the Nunatsiavut and the Innu Nation, in Labrador to finalize agreements for their jurisdictions.
- The decision to continue to offer funding in future phases is based on an assessment of each province, territorie (PT)’s rate of recovery in passenger volumes, reported through the Electronic Collection of Air Transportation Statistics (ECATS) database. Transport Canada is currently preparing to allocate funding for Phase 2 and will be engaging with jurisdictions in early spring.