Balancing act: Canadian North’s first Inuk CEO juggles Arctic airline challenges
CTV
With carriers' flight volumes above the 60th parallel hovering below pre-pandemic levels, Canadian North’s first Inuk CEO now bears the task of balancing those financial and logistical challenges with the needs of communities for which she feels a deep affinity.
In a colonnaded limestone building across from Parliament Hill, Shelly De Caria addressed a House of Commons committee on Wednesday as a chief executive for the first time in her 11-year airline career.
“I understand more than many what it means to struggle because of lack of access to affordable food as a child,” De Caria, who grew up in Nunavik in northern Quebec, told lawmakers.
“I remember the hardship and strain it caused, and most of all I remember going to bed hungry.”
De Caria has taken those memories with her to the top spot at Canadian North, where she stepped into the role in December.
She says her main focus will be doubling down on core services — scheduled flights that carry people, food and other essential goods to about 30 villages and cities, the vast majority of them accessible only by plane for much of the year — as the CEO looks to extend a lifeline to northern residents in need of air travel for health, education, business and tourism.
“This obviously can't be done overnight,” she said in an interview.
De Caria faces a raft of challenges. A pilot shortage and dearth of federal funding are two big obstacles, while weather and infrastructure difficulties particular to the North pose further problems.
