Prince Albert and La Ronge airports to receive up to $600K in funding from federal government
On Wednesday Western Economic Diversification Canada announced two Saskatchewan airports will each receive a slice of $4 million in funding for seven Prairie airports through its Regional Air Transportation Initiative (RATI).
The initiative was launched in March to enable regional air carriers and airports to remain operational and continue to contribute to growth while adapting to new post COVID-19 realities and requirements, a government news release said.
Prince Albert and La Ronge are the two airports in Saskatchewan that will receive up to $300,000 each for improvements.
LA RONGE UPGRADES
“The investment will not only help a critical asset in our region economy recover from COVID, it will help improve the competitiveness of our airport and speed up the recovery timelines. On behalf of council, we are very thankful for the investment,” La Ronge Mayor Colin Ratushinak said in the release.
Ratushinak says the funding will go towards three areas in the La Ronge airport. Getting high speed internet, adding lights to the deicing bay area and rehabilitating the apron to secure aircrafts for parking.
“Being in a remote location where we are situated, we’re at a place where we’re not at sort of viable communications you would typically see in the south,” Ratushinak told CTV News regarding the internet speed.
He says the airport had a maximum of 5 megabytes per second of speed and compares urban airports receiving a gigabyte of speed or faster.
Ratushinak emphasizes not having any lights in the deicing bay during the winter can be difficult as the sun doesn’t come up until 8 or 9 a.m.
He adds the airport is a “main hub” for flight planning as they have a 24/7 flight service station.
PRINCE ALBERT IMPROVEMENTS
Prince Albert airport manager Corey Nygaard says the news of the funding was “pretty exciting” as it they weren’t expecting any money to come this year.
It will go towards painting the runway, a snowblower and an emergency generator for maintenance facilities.
Nygaard says regional airports are “vitally important” as people north of the province may only have the option to fly in order to travel to other parts of the province.
”We support the resource sector, the mining companies that have older employees, and it makes more logistical sense to wire your staff to these locations,” Nygaard told CTV News.
“Last but definitely not least the connectivity of emergency services medevac system, all the way up north, that they're funneling through Prince Albert hospital first.”
Nygaard says the Prince Albert airport was “luckier than most” and was only down 50 per cent capacity during the height of the pandemic while bigger airports were down by 90 per cent.
In order to receive the funding, Nygaard says the airport fills out a funding agreement and will purchase materials over the next two years. The airport submits the requests and the invoices come in later.
Lethbridge, Medicine Hat, Fort McMurray, High Level, and The Pas are the other airports in the prairies that will receive funding through RATI.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
DEVELOPING Live updates as Stormy Daniels testifies at Trump hush money trial
Adult film star Stormy Daniels will take the stand a second time Thursday as former U.S. president Donald Trump’s hush money case continues in Manhattan. Follow live updates here.
NEW Why these immigrants to Canada say they're thinking about leaving, or have already moved on
For some immigrants, their dreams of permanently settling in Canada have taken an unexpected twist.
Here are the ultraprocessed foods you most need to avoid, according to a 30-year study
Studies have shown that ultraprocessed foods can have a detrimental impact on health. But 30 years of research show they don’t all have the same impact.
NEW Capital gains tax change 'shortsighted' and 'sows division' business groups tell Freeland
Forging ahead with increasing Canada's capital gains inclusion rate 'sows division,' and is a 'shortsighted' way to improve the deficit, business groups are warning Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland.
Ontario man frustrated after $3,500 paving job leaves driveway in shambles
An Ontario man considering having his driveway paved received a quote from a company for $7,000, but then, another paver in the neighbourhood knocked on his door and offered half that rate.
RateMDs violates privacy of health professionals, class-action lawsuit claims
A lawsuit against RateMDs has been given the go-ahead by a B.C. Supreme Court judge who found the claim that the website violates the privacy rights of medical professionals is not 'bound to fail.'
Defence attacks Stormy Daniels' credibility as she returns to the stand in Trump's hush money trial
Stormy Daniels will return to the witness stand Thursday in Donald Trump's hush money trial as the defence tries to undermine the credibility of the porn actor's salacious testimony about their alleged sexual encounter and the money she was paid to keep quiet.
With contactless screening tech, this Toronto startup hopes to catch breast cancer early — and save lives
Amid evidence of rising breast cancer rates among young women in Canada, one Toronto startup is offering a contactless and radiation-free device that can help doctors identify suspicious changes in breast tissue. The company, Linda Lifetech, says this can lead to earlier detection of breast cancer.
Tornadoes tear through southeastern U.S. as storms leave 3 dead
Forecasters warned a wave of dangerous storms in the U.S. could wash over parts of the South early Thursday, a day after severe weather with damaging tornadoes and large hail killed at least three people in the region.