CTVN - Friday, May 24, 2024 - 12:00 a.m. (ET) - Segment #2

how countries do this, some are user pay, fully user pay, some are taxpayer supported, and we are suggesting that there are models out there, both user paid and nonuser paid that are lower priced and lead to lower airfare tickets than the system that we have in canada and we are recommending to review. And the third thing that we are suggesting is right now, the air travel for actually paying money to the government. So it's actually -- not -- not even -- not a subsidy, actually a subsidy from the travellers to the government into the federal budget because airports have to pay 30% of the revenues as a rent to the government. And this just goes straight through to the ticket prices and we are suggesting to stop collecting presents from airports, this is a very unusual thing that's not happening in other countries and just contributing to the high price of tickets. >> Especially on the second recommendation, though, when you are talking about basically alternative to user pay, because I think now that we have breakdown that is we get when we purchase tickets, we do see the cost that we're paying beyond just the base fare price. I mean, the alternative is we pay for it as a taxpayer or we pay for it if we night either way canadians are paying for it. >> Yes, that's -- that's -- that's absolutely true. However, the ticket prices are reflected in -- in what the extra services cost. So there are user pay systems that are actually cheaper than what we have in canada. So I've been working in europe before and that's also user pay system, but it's configured in a different way, which leads to a higher efficiency, which actually leads to a lower cost of infrastructure. That's why companies like ryan air and ev jet are providing single digit or double digit airfares to a large extend. For example the edward fair that ryan air charges to customers in europe is lower than what's being paid for infrastructure on a ticket fare in canada alone. So a company like ryan air wouldn't be able to do business in canada. So I think -- and this is despite being in the user pay system. And then we have the other version that's being used in the U.S. where the airports are actually -- airports and air traffic control and so on are actually being supported by the taxpayer and this is creating a much lower infrastructure cost an therefore lower ticket sales and this needs to actually millions of canadians driving across border to airports in bellingham or buffalo to fly from U.S. airports because it's so much cheaper to fly from there and that's a net loss to the economy of canada. >> Is it fair to characterize this all due to extraneous costs beyond the ones that are in your control, with respect, sir, because your fares are part of what people are paying too. >> Absolutely. And we are driving down our fares, so affordability is a core value for us. Last year, we sold around 10 million tickets below $200, which is good. It's not great, I would love to have the number below $100, but that's not possible, unfortunately, but we are constantly investing into larger airplanes, more seats and making more seats at low fares available to those people that actually lack -- it's the number one thing that we hear from our guests and from the communities we serve is that airfares are too expensive and we want to provide more -- or lower airfares because we know that more demand and with this actually connectivity options for canadians than we are also happy to serve them. So it's actually beneficial for us to do it. But there's -- there's a limit what we can do based on the level of cost that we have to pay for the infrastructure. >> So let me ask you, then, if the government comes back at some point and agrees to some of what you've put forward and does lower essentially the cost that it has applied to what a consumer ends up paying, are you willing to go beyond what you are providing for lower fare buys adding extra seats or for example providing an option without carry on bags? Are you willing to look at cutting your own level profit if the government is too? >> So if -- if the infrastructure fees go down, then this would be a straight path through to the guests, and this -- this would then naturally result into -- into lower ticket prices and that's what people need. >> Guess what I'm asking, though, is if -- if they are willing to do something to arrive at that conclusion, are you willing to do more as well to arrive at an even better conclusion for canadian travellers? >> Yeah, absolutely. I mean, that's what we are constantly doing, that's what we've been doing for the last years and that's what we're doing right now. You may have seen that we are going to introduce at a lower fare class that will allow people to get even lower fares, if they are not interested in certain services that other passengers may be interested in, like have a big carry-on bag or something like that, so if they don't want that, they can have a cheaper fare. So we are constantly thinking about how we can address the needs of those guests that are

primarily looking at the price, we will continue doing that. >> But would it be tied to an action taken by the federal government and I will tell you why I'm asking. I'm going to put to you the statement we for the from the transport minister's office to what you have suggested. They just released this to us, and I will get your response. The spokesperson for the minister, minister rodriguez writes we will continue to work with our partners to attract more investments in canadian airports so that millions of passengers can continue to pass through their doors every year. Canadians work hard and save up to travel, they expect to leave on time and they expect good service from airlines, this should be their top priority. >> Yes. I agree, fully to that, and we have a track record at westjet of being a reeve liable -- actually just in april, we found out to be the second most reliable airline in awful north america and this despite having had a few really tough snow days, so I think this is a great testament of how we are improving our service and being as reliable as we can, and that's something we are very proud of, we have 15,000 people that are working very, very hard every single day to provide a great service to our guests and that's our entire brand proposition so therefore I couldn't agree more. We all have to provide a good service. But it's not just one side on the airlines, it's also the government and the regulators who set the framework in which we operate and therefore it's -- it's a two-sided coin. We have to do things together. And we do have a very good relationship with the government. Don't get me wrong. I don't blame the government. >> Vassy: I wanted to ask, I guess, are there any conversations? I know there's a review underway that's about to get underway with the competition bureau for example of the sector more largely but are there any kind of by lateral conversations between your company and the federal government about what we are talking about. Because if I read between the lines from the minister of transport, he's not even directly addressing the proposition that you are making which leads me to believe that maybe they are not entertaining it. >> Well, of course, we are in very close contact with the federal government. The federal minister of transport was here last thursday and spent time with our team and it was actually very good meeting. We are in -- in good context and I think beappreciate the work we do and we appreciate the work they do because essentially we want all of the same. And we want reliable service that have no other option to travel than by air and this has to be reliable and affordable. That's what they want, that's what we want. And of course we sometimes discuss privately and sometimes publicly what we think that we should collectively do to improve things, but at the end of the day we have -- we have the same goal. >> Vassy: okay, I have to leave it there, sir, thank you very much for your time today, I appreciate it. >> Thank you. >> Vassy: that's the ceo of westjet. Coming up tonight on power-play, the front bench is here, we are talking about the canada-u.s. Relationship, a new point of friction on defence spending and the possibility of trump 2.0, john tory, christy clark and tom mulcair are with me. There they are, after a very short break. Stay right there. She'll be coming ‘round the mountain when she comes. She'll be coming ‘round the mountain when she comes. She'll be coming ‘round the mountain. And the river. And the desert. 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chris consumers, a huge advocate for issues around foreign policy that we face, senator joe mansion who made a trip to alberta, if I remember correctly a few years ago to help try and spur, you know, the relationship around energy, do you think that this matters politically? >> Oh, yeah, I think it matters a lot. I mean, there's no doubt our two economies are integrated and free trade benefits the americans just as much as it benefits us. Well, probably not just as much and that's the thing is that, you know, they are the big partner and we are the little partner, and when you are the little partner, you always have a much bigger investment in trade than the other partner does. I mean, some of our provinces ship -- like get I think over 95% of their trade goes to the united states. Imagine if the americans decided, because they didn't think we were living up to our obligations, which we are not, on the international stage, that they wanted to shut down trade from some provinces. When I was the premier of british columbia, we were proud that we got our trade down to 49% with the united states, which was a record, I think, in canada. We are all incredibly dependent on them and we can't stand around and to say, well, they benefit, we benefit, uh-huh, we benefit a lot more than they do. And I can tell you while americans are spending a huge amount of their government's money, their taxpayers money on defence, canadians are spending all that defence money on health care and education. So, you know, we've been really getting a free ride for a long time. And I don't think it's unreasonable for the american neighbours to say, you know, what the free ride is over. We don't expect you to spend what we're spending, they are saying, 2% you promised you would do, it live up to your promise. >> I think the counter from the federal government and we were referencing this earlier, john, was -- from the defence minister who even openly spoke about how hard it was to convince his cabinet colleagues to go along with the plan to get to 1.7%, which is markedly higher than it was for example a deck decade ago, it just seems to be that the vulnerability is around a plan to get just beyond that, to 2% because that's what the senators made clear in the letter. There's what we expect when the meeting was in july, just a plan to get there because canada right now is the only country who doesn't have one. >> Let me start with a deal is a dealened I think we signed on to the 2% along with whole bunch of other countries and isn't just U.S. senators or donald trump or anybody else speaking about this, it's other countries in nato have spoken about canada, the secretary general has spoken to canada about this, but a deal's a deal. If we tried to sign up any partnership in life and said, well, we'll put in a dollar and later on we said well, we're only just going to do 85 cents, can't you take a joke, people would not take you seriously as a partner if you signed up and then said you are not doing it. And so what we need is a plan. That that doesn't have to be spent tomorrow, we need a plan. I think the political risk in this beyond whatever the risk is with the U.S. relationship, the political risk at home which I know you were talking to some of the generals about earlier, I don't think is as high as people might think. I think canadians would support the notion that we should look after our sovereignty in the north. I read that there are nuclear submarines up there from other countries that are plying the northern waters under the ice and so on. We should be able to assert our sovereignty up there and a host of other things including as tom said being able to send people if required to help out in the defence of democracy. That's what we're there to do. So I don't believe that there is a political risk, I think canadians actually would support this and then they need to just have the plan that says we're going to get the rest of the way there. Why would you put out a plan that falls short by 0.3% of what we said we would do and signed on to do? It just doesn't make sense. >> I think if you play devil's advocate for a second, tom, it's that they actually haven't been able to spend all of the money even that they had allocated which already fell short that maybe it's more realistic to say that they're only going to say 1.7%, but to john's point, how difficult would it be to map out beyond that, how to get to 2%? I think where the domestic political risk calculation comes in, the interesting thing is maybe the calculations change with canadians, but they are not getting it very hard from the opposition. The conservatives have broadly said, yes, it's something we would, you know, hope to meet. They have not laid out any distinct marker by which they would do it or if they would do it much faster or how they would do it. They don't talk about issues around defence even close to the amount they are talking about issues we know are resonating with voters like affordability. >> Well said. You are right. And well spotted by you that poilievre is confirming around this issue, never come out clearly saying we're going to represent the 2% and I guess because it's very hard, one, to actually spend the money as you just mentioned, but, two, to find the money if you've got other priorities that you are going to be coming into government w but I don't think we've got a choice. And we're not very good at procurement. I think we have to make that simple. I mean when you look at the coastal ship that is we are building right now, there was so much water accumulating on the decks, we found a solution for it, we're going to start making

holes in the deck so that the water will run off. Don't think somebody could have thought about that in advance? I mean, we're at the stage now, talk about protecting the arctic, we've got nothing. And whether it's the aircraft that we are buying, finally, going to modernize our fleet of fighter aircraft, but I mean there's still well short of the numbers that we would need to cover the second largest country in the world which is canada, we're the only country that runs on three oceans, and we've got nothing. Not even for our own territory, for our own interest, never mind those as you mentioned of our allies and neighbours. So I think that this is a scandalous situation and it's not an argument to say you know the reason we haven't been able to spend when we've already budgeted is because we are really lousy at this. I think the answer to that is you've got to pick up your game. >> Okay, I've got to pick up my game and take a commercial break. The front bench is sticking around. On the other end of that break, we're going to talk about how the liberals are amping up their critique of pierre poilievre, essentially accusing him of if he wins and forms the next government taking away all of the programs that they've provided for canadians. We'll discuss the potential impact of that coming up. [ ] They say, "post it or it didn't happen." But out here, in the places we were made for, you'll have to take our word for it. Find somewhere the internet's never been... with a family of Broncos designed to get you there. ( ) ( ) Money is a thing. You're told to make money, invest money, save money. While others are encouraging you to spend your money. You might even be planning your money ...based on someone else's plan. Maybe it's time to do things...differently. And get obsessed over something other than money. Like building a path based on what's important to you. ( ) we understand money's a thing, but it's not everything. Edward Jones. We do money differently. When you back hurts, life hurts. Robax dual action formula relieves pain and relaxes tight muscles. Take back your back with Robax. The future is not just going to happen. You have to make it. And if you want a successful business, all it takes is an idea, and Now becomes the Future. A Future where you grew a dream into a reality. It's waiting for you. Mere minutes away. ( ) The Future is nothing but power and it's all yours. The all new godaddy airo. Get your business online in minutes with the power of ai. Feeling sluggishor weighed down?Could be a sign that yourdigestive system isn't at its best. But a little Metamucilevery day can help. Metamucil psyllium fiber gels to trap and remove the wastethat weighs you down and also helpslower cholesterol and slows sugar absorption to promote healthyblood sugar levels. So you can feel lighter. Lighten up every daythe Metamucil way and try Metamucil Fibre +Collagen Peptides to help promotedigestive health and reduce joint pain. Did you know you waste200 hoursa year hand washing dishes? "Hun. Hun." Turning your backon the moments that matter. There's a better optionthan hand washing. Switch to your dishwasherand Cascade Platinum Plus. It uses the power of Dawn to thoroughlyclean your dishes removing 99% of greaseand food residue. So all you have to do isScrape, Load, and you're done! Cascade. No prewash, no rewash, or your moneyback Want some coffee, mate? Coffee'd be great. Thanks, mate. How 'bout some Coffee Mate? —Coffee, mate! —Coffee Mate? Already said I want some coffee, mate? I meant you want some Coffee Mate? Oh! I'd love some Coffee Mate with my coffee, mate. —Mate? —Mate. Crikey, that's rich and creamy coffee, mate. >> We as women want to know whether the leader of the opposition will ensure that his caucus does not put forward legislation that in any way impinges on women's rights and freedoms in particularly bodily autonomy. >> We should be frustrated but not at all surprised by the conservatives' coming out against dental care. >> This is an example of conservatives having taken away canadians' rights and something they hold most dear to them in their citizenship. So when the conservatives say nothing to fear, canadians need to take note of what they've actually done in the past.

>> You heard it there, just a sampling of liberal MPs and ministers out this week painting a picture of what they say it will be like if the conservatives win the next election, as polls show they would if the election were held tomorrow. Is the message punching through? Poilievre continues to lead in public opinion polling with the conservatives enjoying a 16-point lead over the liberals, according to this latest poll from abacus data and it seems there's some anticipation of what his policies would be, some examples from that recent abacus survey reported by the toronto star shows 63% of respondents say poilievre would probably or definitely welcome fewer immigrants to canada and 60% are expecting him to cut the carbon tax. Let's bring back the front bench to talk about that, christy clark, john tory and tom mulcair. Criesy, I will start with you. I notice that this was -- the reason I want to talk about it is because at almost every press conference, no matter the subject, the minister or the mp in question, like, would turn it very quickly to we're talking about this now and here's what poilievre will take away. Do you think as an overall strategy that will be effective in the short-term or the long-term? >> I think it will be -- if it's going to be effective, it will be effective in the long-term, they're just going to keep hammering away at it. The thing is, the challenge that Mr. Poilievre has is that, you know, he wants to get the budget in order. He wants to balance the budget. Well, there's a $40 billion budget deficit. He wants to try and assure canadians that, you know, the programs that they love and the new ones like dental care and some of the pharmacare stuff are going to stay or child care, people like that. But program spending has grown by 30% almost under the liberals. So you've got a $40 billion deficit. He's got 30 billion or got 30% growth in government spending that's going to have to be restrained, it is a very difficult circle to square. And, I mean, let's just talk about nato funding, that $14.5 billion more that you will have to find to do that. So no wonder he's not saying what he would do with this or that because I mean the reality is when you, you know, when you replace a government that has spent the country into, you know, into poverty, it is a very difficult thing to do to turn it around. And I don't think Mr. Poilievre wants to talk about that. Instead, I think he will talk about housing, he will talk about some of the -- maybe immigration, those things that really do appeal to lots of voters as discreet issues and if he can avoid talking about what's going to happen with dental care and the nato target, I'm going to get that it's exactly what he will do. >> Vassy: I guess the question jumping off of that, john, is whether he will be able to. Because I think the double-edged sword of being so far ahead of the tories -- rather of the liberals in the polls is scrutiny turns your way, right? Like, the focuses of the media and others, all of a sudden those questions become -- they are being asked with more frequency. >> Well, and we've discussed before right here on the front bench that, you know, when you are at 42% in the polls whatever, the 20 point lead, you only have one direction to g you can stay where you are but that's hard and there's only one other direction to g you don't go to 46 or 47 in our system anyway. But if I were the liberals I would take encourage from this. Whether it's short-term or long-term, what you see here is certainly a plurality of people who support the policies that they have, but a big group, sometimes even bigger group who say they are not sure and then you have a lot of other people, most people solid majority saying they don't want abortion messed with, they don't want dental care taken away and so on. And so what the liberals have to do is exactly what they are doing, whether it works or not is a different question because as a pollster, I repeated here a week or two ago said it's about them, meaning the government and the people and the prime minister, but they have to raise the risk and the second thing they have to do and we've talked about this often as well is they have to actually make these programs real, so that if it actually becomes your grandmother or your daughter or your son or somebody who's in these programs, child care, dental care and so on, then the risk of it being cancelled becomes more real than if it's just some program that nobody really feels exists. So I don't think by any means we are seeing the end of this. It is a year and a bit away from the election, so time is wasting, but I think there's some very interesting things in this poll that, you know, mean that strategy is probably the right thing to try for now. >> I think the other sort of -- and john reference, this tom, the other thing that will be really interesting to be able to assess whether it's working is the -- the strategy coming up against the issue of -- and actually both christie and john mentioned, this the momentum for change, the feeling for change, when you think back to the kathleen wynne versus doug ford round wonderings the appetite for change was so great that it didn't matter that doug ford didn't answer any of those questions and put out like a one page platform, right? It ultimately superseded any of the vulnerabilities that he and

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