Alberta Transportation Minister McIver urges Nav Canada to hold off review of Fort McMurray air traffic control

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Transportation Minister Ric McIver is urging Nav Canada to wait until after the pandemic to review if it air traffic control towers in seven cities, including Fort McMurray, should be closed.

In an email, McIver’s spokesperson McKenzie Kibler said the minister and Premier Jason Kenney have raised the issue with the federal government.

“While this is a federal decision, Alberta’s government is concerned,” wrote Kibler. “Nav Canada should hold off on any air traffic reviews until pandemic restrictions have eased and air traffic returns to more normal levels.”

Nav Canada, a private entity tasked with operating Canada’s civil air navigation system, is reviewing if air traffic controllers are needed at some airports. Fort McMurray is the only Alberta community considered. The others include Whitehorse, Regina, Prince George, B.C., Sault Ste. Marie, Ont., Windsor, Ont. and St. Jean, Que.

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The review’s recommendations will be sanctioned or dismissed by Transport Canada sometime this spring.

The controllers would be replaced with flight service specialists, which are cheaper, if the cuts happen. A flight service specialist provides advice and information on weather, runway conditions and air traffic. Pilots make their own decisions on keeping planes a safe distance from each other.

RJ Steenstra, CEO of the Fort McMurray Airport Authority, compared this system to “a four-way stop without a traffic cop” during a Tuesday interview.

He has already warned the airport would scale back services for safety reasons if the cuts happen, causing more layoffs. The cuts could also hurt post-pandemic plans to add routes and charter flights out of Fort McMurray, since some airlines do not fly to airports without air traffic controllers.

“At some point, things will return and we have a very busy airspace. Controllers create a lot of efficiency when it comes to getting in and out of the airport,” said Steenstra. “I just can’t believe that these airports are going to close the gap for them on costs.”

Nav Canada CEO Ray Bohn told the House of Commons transport committee last month the review will continue, regardless of any federal relief package. After the pandemic halted most global and domestic travel, the organization saw revenues and air traffic plummet. At least 900 Nav Canada jobs have been cut since last March.

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The possible cuts have been condemned by other local leaders. David Yurdiga, Conservative MP for Fort McMurray-Cold Lake, said the review has been done with little input from local and Indigenous communities.

Mayor Don Scott said Monday the consideration shows “a lack of long-term, strategic thinking from Nav Canada.” Scott added the Fort McMurray International Airport is the only airport between Edmonton and Yellowknife that can handle emergency landings from major aircraft.

“It makes very little sense to close these towers now just for Nav Canada to cut costs in the short term with economic recovery from COVID-19 just around the corner,” he said. “We recognize Nav Canada may be facing challenges, but this is not the way to meet those challenges.”

— With files from the Canadian Press and Sarah Williscraft

vmcdermott@postmedia.com