Canadian North says it will assist Competition Bureau investigation

The founders of GoSarvaq, a now-defunct discount air service, say they are pleased a federal court has granted an order for two Northern airlines to hand over information to the Competition Bureau.

The bureau filed an application Oct. 20 with the Federal Court to get the information from Canadian North and First Air for its investigationinto alleged anti-competitive conduct. The bureau is reviewing thecodeshare agreement between First Air and Canadian North, as well as allegations that theairlines have engaged in predatory pricing.

In an affidavit,Max Liu, senior competition law officer with the Competition Bureau, statedthere's reason to believe that the Northern airlines "have engaged in conduct that constitutes an abuse of dominant market position."

GoSarvaq had aimed to sell seatsonflightsbetweenIqaluit andOttawaat discount prices, but never got off the ground. In May,GoSarvaqmade a public statement blaming dramatic drops in prices by competitors First Air and Canadian North for killing its discount air service.It has filed a complaint withthe Competition Bureau.

"We are certainly pleased that the Competition Bureau has made this progress," said Allen Haywardfrom GoSarvaq.

"We know that the competition bureau has been working on this diligently for a number of months right from the initial complaint from GoSarvaq."

• Competition Bureau goes to court to get information from Canadian North, First Air
• Airline company GoSarvaq blames competition's seat sales for failure to launch
• No Canadian North flight from Iqaluit to Ottawa for the first 2 months of 2017

He said he was pleased the bureau was able to advance the investigation during the past few months.

In an affidavit to the court, the Competition Bureau stated ithad requested information before from the two Northern airlines but what they received was incomplete.

The two airlines have 90 days to hand over financial documents as well as telephone logs, calendars, and appointment books for the bureau to investigate the allegations.

'We follow widely used airline industry practices'

Canadian North's president Steve Hankirksaid ina statementthe company will assist the Competition Bureau with its investigation.

"We follow widely used airline industry practices that we believe comply with all applicable laws," stated Hankirk.

He added that the airline has been responsive to its Northern customers and has "made significant schedule enhancements over the past year in response to feedback."

"We understand that air service is not a luxury for Northerners; it's a vital lifeline."

Thecodeshareagreement came into effect in May 2015, after Canadian North and First Air called off merger talks.Codeshareagreementsallow for sharing of passengers and cargo on certainroutes.

Hankirk's statement said "this agreement allows us to more efficiently service both cargo and passenger demand and has enabled major schedule improvements."

According to the transcript of a Federal Court hearing held Oct. 26 in Ottawa, the bureau was seeking records spanning an 18-month period starting Jan. 1, 2014.

First Air has not yet responded to a request for comment.