Federal Cuts at EIA

[EdmTrekker]

What does this really mean?

Will this stymie new route development? or late evening flights?

http://www.edmontonjournal.com/busin...925/story.html

[jbubble]

In practice terms zero impact, polically and optically there may be some. ERAA is responsible for route development and security, while these cuts relate to some of the oversight the Feds have.

[Thomas Hinderks]

Originally Posted by jbubble

In practice terms zero impact, polically and optically there may be some. ERAA is responsible for route development and security, while these cuts relate to some of the oversight the Feds have.

The security cuts will have little effect other than differing some cost and oversight to EIA to keep security in guidelines.

But on the Transport Canada cuts, well I would see it a little different in my opinion.

From the article:

All eight members of Transport Canada’s aircraft services division received immediate layoff notices, closing the department that oversees maintenance of Transport Canada aircraft as well as planes and helicopters used by the Department of National Defence and Canadian Coast Guard

Aircraft maintenance that was conducted at the municipal airport will now be done at a consolidated prairie and northern operations centre in Winnipeg.

Patrick Charette, a manager of media relations for Transport Canada, said closing the aircraft services directorate in Edmonton will allow the agency to reduce its fleet of aircraft and costs

Buschman said the aircraft services division in Edmonton had low operating costs and was one of Transport Canada’s busiest hubs for maintenance.
“It surprised us in terms of the entire directorate being shut down,” she said. “It’s a critical point for going north.”

Combined with this from
http://www.newswire.ca/en/story/9537...of-the-iceberg

The closure of this office means that the only other location to service central and northern Canada is in Winnipeg. "In light of the Auditor General's report on civil aviation safety, Canadians can be guaranteed there will be more delays to get inspectors to locations in the North and central Canada to inspect the aircraft," said Christine Collins, National President of the Union of Canadian Transportation Employees (UCTE).

This is a major blow to the aviation service and maintenance industry not just in Edmonton but through the Western Arctic.

Pretty much guarantees that if you plan on being a player in that field you need to be in Winnipeg.

In a lot of ways my opinion is it's the end of an era here.

Also means one less tenant for EIA. Winnipeg wins.

[Blueline]

Tom
Will this also (further) negatively impact the search and rescue operational abilities ?

[YEGatc]

Have feds ever looked at a map and noticed that it's a looooooooong way from YWG to anywhere of relative importance in the north/northwest? I mean, this seems like a very pi$s poor decision by any stretch of the imagination! I still can't help but feel that a province like Alberta sometimes gets stiffed because the federal gov't, in its never ending quest to "balance" its resources in the name of income distribution i.e. job creations, favours provinces that otherwise wouldn't flourish without stimulation such as this. If consolidation of a department like Transport needs to take place to save money, which in and of itself is fine, then YWG will get the nod over EDM. Geographically speaking, it's a shite decision. As alluded to, it could equate to greater delays getting inspectors to and from points north (and west) of central Canada, particularly if the equipment is BE9L or something like that. Do they still have any C550's?

[Thomas Hinderks]

Originally Posted by Blueline

Tom
Will this also (further) negatively impact the search and rescue operational abilities ?

Initially I don't think so, but in time I could see how aircraft service issues could create problems.

Keep in mind that the first line of Search and Rescue is CASARA (Civil Air Search and Rescue Association) volunteer group that operates from the Aviation Museum hangar.

These volunteers in their Cessnas and the like are the first responders to a missing aircraft while the military gears up to respond and if it's a Hercules being sent that is out of Winnipeg!

Don't get me wrong our military SAR guys are the best in the world, but the centralizing of military bases and services like the TC one being closed puts them along ways away.

[Thomas Hinderks]

Have feds ever looked at a map and noticed that it's a looooooooong way from YWG to anywhere of relative importance in the north/northwest? I mean, this seems like a very pi$s poor decision by any stretch of the imagination! I still can't help but feel that a province like Alberta sometimes gets stiffed because the federal gov't, in its never ending quest to "balance" its resources in the name of income distribution i.e. job creations, favours provinces that otherwise wouldn't flourish without stimulation such as this. If consolidation of a department like Transport needs to take place to save money, which in and of itself is fine, then YWG will get the nod over EDM. Geographically speaking, it's a shite decision. As alluded to, it could equate to greater delays getting inspectors to and from points north (and west) of central Canada, particularly if the equipment is BE9L or something like that. Do they still have any C550's?

I agree YEGatc, these turkeys forget how big a country this is and in the never ending quest to shuffle jobs and save a buck (in this case going by the news reports it's shuffle jobs) they are actually deteriorating services.

But hey with ECCA closing they were gonna have to make a move, guess they decided to make a big one.

[BalancedOP]

The lack of any influence of the local MPs is also evident. Harper can say he is all for increasing our presence in the north but then he cuts most of the main program spending.

It would make more sense to have the SAR units based in Cold Lake.

Winnipeg looks after most of the Arctic with Trenton picking up some of the east. And helicopters come up from Gander.
Watch the ATC moved out east next.

[McBoo]

^ Harper can't tell NavCan where its operations are located - nor how many employees it can have and where.

To quote its own websaite, NavCan is a private sector, non-share capital corporation financed through publicly-traded debt.

The airlines play NavCan not Ottawa. Well, more to the point, you and I pay NavCan eveytime we fly.

As for Transport Canada, it is a federal agency and subject to the 5-10% budget haircut everyone else took. Be nice if Edmonton could escape any impact, but not really likely. On balance, we've escaped relatively unscathed.

[Thomas Hinderks]

The airlines play NavCan not Ottawa. Well, more to the point, you and I pay NavCan eveytime we fly.

Actually: Every aviation operator pays. Private, Commercial, Cargo, Air Ambulance and airline. It's just the airlines that get to bill the passenger.

ATC is based on movements and need, but it would not take much to centralize operations more than they are now...and it will likely happen.

Which I personally vehemently oppose.

[PJC]

^ Know several people that work at ATC here in Edmonton. Not gonna happen.
Where would they go? Edmonton already oversees the largest airspace in the world for a single ATC location.

BTW, these same people cannot wait for the CCA to close. A huge pain in the butt for them.

[Thomas Hinderks]

Originally Posted by PJC

^ Know several people that work at ATC here in Edmonton. Not gonna happen.
Where would they go? Edmonton already oversees the largest airspace in the world for a single ATC location.

BTW, these same people cannot wait for the CCA to close. A huge pain in the butt for them.

In this day and age with remote monitoring systems it would not be a big deal to centralize further ATC in any location.

The way the effort to centralize systems is going as evidenced by the latest moves by the federal government I believe it is eventually going to happen, I don't like it but I can see it happening.

Much of the overflight and other FSS functions are already in Window less rooms, doesn't matter were the windowless room is as long as you have the information.

As far as ECCA and your ATC friends...I likely know just as many that are po'd about its closure, but it's irrelevant.

Unless replaced it's just one less airport for them to deal with and a lot less flights.

As to where it would go...Winnipeg seems popular!

[RichardS]

...while it may not be a big deal...I don't see it happening in the near to mid term. Just the building expansion alone is pretty much a non-starter. You have the facility, it has its mandate...nope...no real justification other than political pressure...one that many would see right through...

I hear you on the YWG pieces Tom/YEGatc...they certainly seem to have the upper hand on many initiatives as of late...and we never even are told there is a party let alone get an invitation to it....

...it is not so much income distribution as it is vote buying it seems...not that YWG is not deserving of employment...but these items esp. search and rescue should be done on a deployment model, not on a vote model. CentrePort is another ball of wax...Search and Rescue is life or death.


As for which NavCan employee wants the CCA to close v who doesn't...who cares. My main concern is that given all the dithering, all the indecision, and all the politics...there won't be an aviation industry around to even go for!!! It is going to take a huge push now because even the leads I had are all gone given the uncertainty on whether Edmonton and area even wants this industry...