The North Bay and District Chamber of Commerce has written a letter to Air Canada to express their disappointment over the recent decision to indefinitely suspend service from North Bay to Toronto and the closure of Air Canada’s station here in North Bay.

They’re asking the airline to seriously reconsider the impact this will have on the region and the long-term relationship and opportunity with Air Canada.

The Chamber says they understand the challenges facing the airline industry, but also point out many other businesses are also facing challenges.

Here’s the full release:

Yesterday, the North Bay & District Chamber of Commerce sent a letter to Air Canada officials expressing disappointment over the recent decision to cancel service from North Bay to Toronto in the future.
While we recognize the challenges facing the airlines during the pandemic, there are many other businesses also facing challenges.
The federal government have come up with numerous programs to assist businesses during this difficult time and we recognize that many businesses needed to reduce costs while revenues drastically decreased during COVID-19.
While some assistance does allow businesses to remain positive during this time, outright subsidies are not the only way to save businesses during this difficult time.
Ultimately, this is a worldwide pandemic and many businesses are suffering. Those that are innovative or able to ‘weather the storm’ will see that we are #InThisTogether and will come out stronger in the end.
We encourage Air Canada to remain confident that there is opportunity to remain a carrier at YYB.
What we really need to focus on is the future and how businesses will recover over the short and long-term of the pandemic. President & CEO, Peter Chirico stated “Air Canada has been in our
community for over 80 years! Many years of changing schedules over time to meet the needs of travelers and the business community.”
The suspension of air travel from YYB (North Bay Jack Garland Airport) only made sense during the pandemic, as all citizens were asked to stay home and stay safe.
With the more recent announcement by Air Canada that air service to Toronto Pearson Airport be discontinued, we question this decision. Mr. Chirico continued, “we are more concerned about the historic relationship with Air Canada and their outright cut to air service between North Bay (YYB) and Toronto (YYZ); as such it was appropriate to send the following letter to Air Canada representatives to seriously reconsider the impact this will have to our region and the long-term relationship and opportunity for Air Canada.”
A link to the letter is provided HERE.

 

(File photo by station staff)

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