Hon. Dennis Glen Patterson: Senator Gold, Canadian North and First Air proposed to merge in 2018 so that they could provide more efficient cost-effective service to their customers — as they have said — but the proposed merger would create a monopoly service provider in most of Nunavut. In June 2019, the merger was approved by the Minister of Transport and the Competition Bureau Canada — but with conditions — to ensure that the monopoly the merger would create in most of Nunavut would not allow for exploitation of cargo and passengers.

Despite strict conditions being placed on the merger, a press release — which was released late in the afternoon on Friday, April 21 of this year — from the Minister of Transport’s office announced that the merger conditions had been lifted, and that Canadian North would be allowed to increase passenger fares and cargo rates up to 25% each year, providing they did not make an overall profit of more than 10% each year.

Canadian North was also allowed by the minister to reduce frequency to as low as one flight per week to communities where passenger loads did not reach 85% over six months. This has caused huge concern from smaller, isolated communities, as well as amongst the travelling public and businesses who rely on cargo to deliver supplies and export their products.

Senator Gold, was the Competition Bureau Canada involved in the lifting of the merger conditions, considering they were involved when the conditions to protect consumers were established? If not, why not?