This article was last updated on April 16, 2022
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Alberta Premier Jim Prentice mentioned in his remarks on Tuesday that the first decision of his cabinet is to sell the Alberta government’s controversial fleet of aircraft. During a news conference at the legislature, Prentice stated that “the first decision of the cabinet is to sell the planes,” alleging that “effective immediately, the premier and ministers will be expected to fly commercial as the primary method of transportation.”
Currently, Alberta maintained taxpayer-funded Air Transportation Service that operated a fleet of four planes including three Beechcraft King Air planes and a 30-seat Dash-8. Misuse of this government fleet has been a constant weapon for opposition and government critics over the years, whereas the last nail in the coffin was the scornful report from auditor general, Merwan Saher. Saher unveiled several misuses of the fleet by the Redford government, most important of which was Redford’s use of the planes to attend Progressive Conservative party events. Additionally, it was calculated that the program cost $3.9 million more than comparable travel alternatives in 2012.
During the announcement, Prentice acknowledged that importance of accessing Alberta’s rural and remote communities but alleged that “governments, however, do not necessarily need to own airplanes to access the province and a decision has been made by cabinet that the ownership of a fleet of aircraft, the operation of a fleet of air craft is not necessarily the most appropriate way.” It was disclosed that the decision to sell the planes was made unanimously by cabinet and a request for proposals for charter services will be issued immediately.
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