Shamattawa, an isolated town in northern Manitoba, central Canada and the location of the Shamattawa First Nation, said that Perimeter Aviation (PAG, Winnipeg International) would no longer have an exclusive contract for air travel with the indigenous community following an accident on January 19, the Winnipeg Free Press newspaper reported.
The Metroliner from Thompson landed normally but slowing down it veered abruptly to the right and ploughed into a snowbank alongside the runway. The wing and propeller were damaged, but no injuries were reported.
Chief Eric Redhead of Shamattawa First Nation met representatives from Perimeter Aviation in Thompson the following day. Both sides said they had agreed in principle to end the ten-year contract between them signed in 2016 within 30 days, allowing for other airlines to introduce services to the remote fly-in community, the newspaper said.
“Our members wanted out of this agreement,” Redhead said after the meeting. “We deserve a choice in which airlines we fly.”
As the community's planned ice road is not yet open, air is the only option for most of the year for residents of Shamattawa travelling for work, family, or medical reasons.
“I had no concerns about the state of the runway,” Redhead had said earlier in a statement. “I am once again calling on Perimeter Aviation to step up and take steps to improve the air transport services they provide to citizens in northern Manitoba.”
Perimeter flies to Shamattawa 7x weekly from Thompson, 5x weekly from Winnipeg International, and 1x weekly from Gods River, according to the ch-aviation capacities module.
Several First Nation communities in the Manitoba Keewatinowi Okimakanak region have similar agreements with Perimeter. Some have said they receive poor service, the region's grand chief, Garrison Settee, said in a statement on January 20.
“Many of our communities do not have an all-weather road, so air travel is the only option,” Settee said. “I am concerned that this large corporation, which profits almost entirely off northern First Nations, is letting our First Nations down.”
Perimeter is a subsidiary of Winnipeg-based Income Exchange Corporation, whose holdings also include Bearskin Airlines (JV, Sioux Lookout), Calm Air (MO, Thompson), and Keewatin Air. Settee demanded that the airline “develop a plan that meets the needs of our Northern First Nations, [or] we will be calling on the federal government to step in to investigate this matter.”
Perimeter Aviation was not immediately available for comment.
