Air cargo traffic continues to be a significant area of our customer base: cargo-based air carriers have been an essential component in battling the pandemic, providing critical supplies and equipment in a timely fashion. NAV CANADA is proud of the role it has played in supporting and maintaining the global supply chain.
However, there remain economic and geopolitical uncertainties that could impact our recovery. In August 2022, air traffic levels were still 12 per cent lower than pre-pandemic levels.
Facing such an uncertain environment, I cannot say enough about the resilience and professionalism of NAV CANADA employees at all our sites across the country. The last few years have been the most difficult in our history, requiring unprecedented changes to our Company and many hard decisions: substantially increasing our debt load; reducing our employee base by nearly 15 per cent; and divesting ourselves of assets that were not aligned to our core business.
We responded to the global pandemic with a focus on maintaining our services and protecting the health and safety of our employees. With no site closures due to COVID to date, a safety record that has remained one of the best in the world and the successful protection of an essential service vital to all Canadians, we certainly met our goals.
NAV CANADA is looking toward the future. We need to improve our Company’s resiliency, which we will achieve by implementing several strategic goals. We are on a path to take our business to an entirely new level. We will be leveraging today’s exciting new technologies to generate increased value for our customers, stakeholders, and everyone in Canada and around the world who relies on a safe and efficient air-transportation network.
Our new Strategic Direction is focused on modernizing our airspace and our air traffic management systems in ways that will improve safety and efficiency while reducing greenhouse gas emissions.
We remain committed to a sustainable future. On Earth Day 2022, NAV CANADA reaffirmed this commitment by announcing we are joining the UN Global Compact: the world’s largest corporate sustainability initiative.
This was the first milestone in our new Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) Strategy that will help us manage our environmental impact, ensure social responsibility, and maintain strong governance.
In fiscal 2022, NAV CANADA advised the Government of Canada that we will be supporting Canada’s Aviation Climate Action Plan, with the vision for net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050. In collaboration with our industry partners around the world, NAV CANADA will be part of the solution.
The pandemic illustrated just how much we can achieve if all of us — countries, industry partners, colleagues — work together. We are now set on a new direction, and I know NAV CANADA’s people are up to the challenge.
I want to express my heartfelt thanks to all our employees for all you have done to bring us to a new dawn and an exciting new chapter in our Company’s history. Never in our history have we faced such a crisis, and in response you have shone through.
Marc Courtois
Chair of the Board