Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, Northerners have long been frustrated with poorly-designed laws and public policy made in southern Canada with no regard for the reality of life in the NWT. This is why the GNWT worked so hard to get a deal on devolution. It is too bad devolution did not include control of aviation. Maybe then northern airlines would not be worried about staying in business when proposed pilot fatigue regulatory changes are brought forward by Transport Canada.

Mr. Speaker, these controversial changes would put restraints on pilot flying time, such as capping shifts and restricting the number of take-offs and landings. This will negatively affect the northern aviation industry. Pilots will be tied up for longer periods of time, and companies will pay more for more pilots, or take longer periods to get the same amount of work done.

Small business operators in my riding and across the North are extremely worried about these new provisions and the possible impacts on small Northern airlines such as Aklak Air and North Wright Airways. I have been told that many smaller operators will have to reassess the viability of their businesses. A number of small regional airlines have already said the regulations will force them out of business. This can mean everything from reduced access to air transportation, loss of medevac services, loss of forest fighting services, loss of access to food and essentials, or at the very least, significant increase in costs of those goods and services to communities that can least afford it.

Unfortunately, Mr. Speaker, this is not the first time we have felt the impact of southern political objectives that do not align with the best interests of northern communities. In this case, the proposed changes stem from recommendations made by the US National Transportation Safety Board, as a result of a 2009 air accident in New York state. Critics of this proposal point out that the new rules were designed with pilots of commercial jetliners in mind, not the bush pilots, medevac pilots, and others who do work such as transferring fuel from barges and ferrying people and materials to mining camps.

Mr. Speaker, Northern aviators care about pilot fatigue. They tell me pilot fatigue has never been the cause of a serious accident in Canada, let alone the North. Today, I am asking the Minister of Infrastructure to step up on their behalf, engage with his colleagues in Nunavut and Yukon, and let the federal government know, yet again, that they do not have the knowledge to speak for Northerners.

Quyanainni, Mr. Speaker.