Wednesday, March 25, 2020

The Honourable 80 Wellington Street Ottawa, ON K1A 0A2 [email protected]

Re: Support for Canada’s airports and airlines facing severe financial impact of COVID‐19

Dear Prime Minister:

We are writing in strong support of the airport and airline industry requests for immediate federal government assistance to endure the COVID‐19 crisis and continue to provide essential connectivity for movement of people, cargo and other services for our global cities. We urge your government to support Canada’s aviation sector through short‐term rent and financial relief for Canada’s airports, measures to address airline liquidity and government imposed fees on carriers, and a longer‐term stimulus package as part of the overall economic recovery.

Founded in 2015, the Canadian Global Cities Council (CGCC) is a coalition of CEOs of eight of Canada’s largest urban Chambers of Commerce and Boards of Trade coast‐to‐coast: Vancouver, Calgary, Edmonton, Winnipeg, Brampton, , Montreal, and Halifax. Representing half of Canada’s GDP and population, the CGCC is a strong voice for national policies that build competitive and sustainable urban economies.

As you know, Canada’s airports and airlines continue to work with public health officials to facilitate the safe return of our citizens while also maintaining the flow of essential cargo supplies in a time of tremendous need.

However, as you also know, the pandemic has put an unprecedented strain on airport facilities, airline operations and the finances of organizations throughout the air transport sector. Canada is now facing the grim reality that many parts of the aviation sector could shut down without government action and relief.

Canada’s major airlines are aggressively adjusting operations and schedules as a result of new border measures and evolving travel restrictions. This has resulted in substantial reductions in capacity and recent announcements by several airlines to wind down various operations and initiate widespread layoffs. With traffic declines of 55‐71% in the second quarter of 2020, Canada’s major airports now expect to see losses of $1.8 billion to $2.2 billion this year, in addition to the billions in losses faced by Canadian airlines.

This is unprecedented and catastrophic for our nation’s airports and airlines, and our cities that rely on them for the domestic and global connectivity they provide.

To make matters worse, there are many operational costs related to safety, maintenance and passenger services that are fixed and cannot be reduced in proportion to reduced traffic volumes. Stricter health protocols aimed at controlling the spread of COVID‐19 are putting an even bigger strain on cash flows.

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Even though passenger traffic may slow significantly, maintaining air connections is essential for continued domestic and international business and trade. Air cargo volumes may actually increase as supply chains adapt and businesses and consumers increase their reliance on delivery services.

We would also encourage you to plan ahead for the aviation sector’s recovery once the pandemic is over. Ottawa must support the role of air transport in stimulating Canadian trade and tourism through investments in tourism promotion, support for border modernization programs and initiatives such as Electronic Travel Authorization (ETA) 2.0 and visa‐free transit.

Across the sector, airports and airlines are reducing costs as much as possible in response to the COVID‐19 outbreak, but as we are all aware, this is an unprecedented challenge they cannot weather without your government’s help.

We are reassured to see your government move quickly to introduce economic measures to help stabilize the economy and acknowledge the need to address the long‐term viability and resiliency of Canada’s aviation sector. We very much hope Canada’s global cities can count on Ottawa to swiftly follow through on this promise.

Thank you for your consideration, and all the hard working being done by you, your colleagues, and hundreds of thousands of public officials throughout Canada.

Sincerely,

The Canadian Global Cities Council [SIGNATURE PAGE FOLLOWS]

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Janet De Silva Patrick Sullivan (Chair) President & CEO President & CEO

Bridgitte Anderson

President & CEO Janet Riopel President & CEO

Loren Remillard Dr. Sandip Lalli President & CEO President & CEO

Michel LeBlanc Todd Letts President & CEO President & CEO

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CC The Hon. Minister of Transport [email protected]

The Hon. Minister of Finance [email protected]

The Hon. Melanie Joly Minister of Economic Development and Official Languages ED.minister‐[email protected]

The Hon. Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness ps.ministerofpublicsafety‐[email protected]

About the CGCC

Founded in 2015, The Canadian Global Cities Council (CGCC) is a coalition of CEOs of eight of Canada’s largest urban Chambers of Commerce and Boards of Trade coast-to-coast: Vancouver, Calgary, Edmonton, Winnipeg, Brampton, Toronto, Montreal, and Halifax. Representing half of Canada’s GDP and population, the CGCC is a strong voice for national policies that build competitive and sustainable urban economies.

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