This text is taken from the Courrier de la Planète of September 13. Click here to subscribe.
Companies offering recreational helicopter rides have benefited from $1.3 million in financial assistance from the Quebec government since 2019, learned The duty. The Ministry of Tourism justifies the subsidies for this activity which emits a lot of greenhouse gases (GHG) by saying “support the current tourist offer” while favoring a “shift towards responsible and sustainable tourism”.
Over the past three years, businesses that offer recreational helicopter tours have received $450,000 in grants through various programs. The projects supported “respected the eligibility criteria” of each program, explains Virginie Rompré, director of communications for the Ministry of Tourism, in response to questions from the To have to.
In addition to this money, these companies indirectly obtained $875,000 through the Passeport Attraits program, intended to support Quebec tourism during the pandemic. It is the customers of the helicopter tours who have pocketed this money, by benefiting from discounts. This program ended in August 2021.
Flying in a helicopter is extremely polluting. One hour of flight in a small model helicopter can consume 60 liters of kerosene, resulting in the emission of almost 150 kilograms of CO2. This is the same quantity of GHGs released by a car traveling from Montreal to Sept-Îles, for example.
How does the Ministry of Tourism justify its support for these high-carbon companies when the Quebec government has set itself the target of reducing GHG emissions by 37.5% in 2030 compared to 1990?
“The ministry is pursuing its mission of supporting the current tourist offer, while promoting a shift towards responsible and sustainable tourism,” replies Ms.me To break up. It has also implemented an Action Plan for responsible and sustainable tourism in February 2021.
Among the actions implemented since the launch of this plan, note that of including, in the new aid programs of the Ministry, criteria related to sustainable development. »
total aberration
These explanations do not convince Patrick Bonin, head of the Climate-Energy campaign at Greenpeace Canada. He says subsidizing recreational helicopter rides is a “total aberration.”
“There needs to be a transition in all sectors, including the tourism sector,” he said. And the first thing to do is to stop subsidizing problematic activities. This case is the perfect example of what not to do: encouraging one of the worst modes of transportation, which not only comes with its share of greenhouse gas emissions, but also with noise pollution. »
According to Mr. Bonin, “we must get rid of” helicopter observation towers, or even ban them, because these are polluting activities, “at the antipodes of the essential needs” of society. Real criteria must be put in place so that the Ministry of Tourism no longer grants such subsidies. Otherwise, the government will continue to “torpedo” the efforts it itself demands of the population.
GoHélico, a company that offers helicopter excursions in the Capitale-Nationale region, is one of the companies whose customers have benefited from the Passeport Attraits program in recent years, confirms Yves Côté, Director of Development at Complexe Capitale Hélicoptère , a structure including GoHélico.
Mr. Côté estimates that about half of GoHélico customers in 2020 and 2021 obtained, thanks to the government program, a 40% discount on the purchase of a package including a helicopter ride and other activities. with tourism partners in the Quebec region. This program “helped us a lot,” he says.
He adds that GoHélico does not only offer recreational flights: the company also offers medical evacuation services, extinguishes forest fires, draws up wildlife inventories of moose, removes contaminated materials from disused and isolated lighthouses, etc. .
Young pilots who come out of school with only 100 flight hours in their pocket do not have enough experience to qualify for government contracts, explains Mr. Côté. By piloting helicopters for tourist excursions, these young aviators can accumulate flight hours and then participate in the company’s other activities, which represent more than 80% of its turnover.
“Yes, we have a component that generates pollution, but our activities in our other sectors make us somewhat indispensable for the environment,” argues Mr. Côté.
Since this summer, GoHélico has also deducted $1 from the price of each passage to offset its GHG emissions by planting trees. The company, which has around 5,000 passengers a year, estimates that it sequesters “three times” more CO2 than what its aircraft emit during recreational flights.
According to the latest report from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), forestry can provide options for “large-scale” greenhouse gas reductions, but it cannot compensate for the inaction of other sectors.
This text is taken from the Courrier de la Planète.