As if it wasn’t hard enough for Canada’s preeminent air carrier to make its planes arrive on time. Now it wants to bid on a high speed rail concession in Ontario and Quebec.If successful in its bid for a multi-decade operating concession, Air Canada and its partners would effectively be in the railroad business and operate all of VIA Rail’s train services in the lucrative Quebec-Windsor rail corridor.Though it has similar operating agreements with rail carriers in Europe to link its various airports of call with final destinations, the bid is raising the eyebrows of citizen transportation advocacy groups who worry it will stifle competition and create a de facto-monopoly in one of the country’s busiest transportation hubs..On Wednesday, Transport Action Canada submitted a breakfast to Public Procurement and Services Canada outlining those concerns.Specifically it said safeguards would be needed to ensure fairness in providing rail-air codes equally to all airlines flying into Canada’s international airports — especially if it owns the rail service.In addition, it would have access to taxpayer-funded subsidies, studies and other information that had previously been withheld on the grounds of commercial sensitivity. Those include management fees payable to the selected consortium. Transport Action worries that the process isn’t fully transparent or fair even before the high-speed rail has even been built..“The response we received only partially addressed our concerns about future competition and didn't address our concerns about lack of transparency nor about access to competitive information,” he said. “Air Canada and Cadence were unable to offer further clarification, citing procurement rules.”“It is crucial that PSPC ensure that the process is fully transparent and fair, especially for a project of this scale that is vitally important to Canada's future productivity and sustainable prosperity.
