Infrastructure Minister Ron Schuler announced on Thursday, February 14, 2019 that the province of Manitoba has signed an agreement for a private company to provide general transportation air services.

The contract was signed with a Winnipeg company, Exchange Income Corporation, that has resources across Manitoba including hangers and aircraft operating under carriers such as Bearskin Lake Air Service, Calm Air, Custom Helicopters, Keewatin Air and Perimeter Aviation.

The contract term is 5 years at a cost of $21 million dollars ($4.2 million per year). According to the minister the cost per year is about $1.3 less than the government had been previously paying for air transportation service.

“This agreement will also reduce the number of occasions where court is rescheduled or cancelled in northern parts of our province, so the criminal justice system is administered in a timely fashion,” said Schuler.

In previous years the province had used private carriers 97 per cent of the time but without an agreement, there were no set rates and no accountability or service standards were set. The minister stated that flights were rescheduled or cancelled with very little notice.

As part of the contract terms, Exchange Income Corporation has strict reporting guidelines with daily, weekly and monthly reporting to the Manitoba Government.

Schuler noted that the RFP process is still underway for privatizing Manitoba’s air ambulance service.