First woman appointed to lead Air Creebec
CBC
A Cree-owned airline in northern Quebec with a long history of trailblazing has appointed a woman as its president for the first time in its 40-year history.
Tanya Pash was appointed to the top job at Air Creebec on July 1, after 10 years as the company's chief operating officer, and a long career before that with the Cree Nation Government.
"I think it shows how far the Cree Nation has come. You see more and more women in leadership and to be the first female president of Air Creebec … it's an honour in itself," said Pash, who finished her university studies in 1996 with a degree in administration from the University of Ottawa and is a registered CPA.
Taking over the top job at such an important Cree organization is a dream come true, said Pash.
"I like to think of it as the flagship of the Cree Nation," said Pash, who is also a board member of several organizations, including the Chamber of Commerce of Val d'Or and the Val-d'Or Regional Airport, among others.
The origins of the Air Creebec lie intertwined with the politics of Quebec in the 1970s and 1980s, along with that of former Parti Québécois premier, René Lévesque.
Several Air Creebec officials say when former Cree Grand Chief, the late Billy Diamond, told Lévesque of the Cree plans to found an airline, the former premier reportedly laughed and said,"Indians don't run airlines, Billy." Diamond reportedly retorted that this "Indian" was going to own an airline.
From its first flight on July 5, 1982, Air Creebec has grown to have 16 Dash-8 planes, two cargo planes and 340 employees.
It operates passenger flights in Quebec and Ontario and a charter service in other provinces. It also operates, along with the Cree Board of Health and Social Services of James Bay, a medical charter to help get Quebec Cree patients to and from medical specialists and services in the South.
Last year, Air Creebec celebrated its 40th anniversary.
"We fly people into the territory and we stimulate economic development by bringing people who would not necessarily go up to the communities to see what we have to offer," said Pash, adding that offering Cree community members a safe way to travel that is 100-per cent Cree-owned is tied to the success and strength of the Cree Nation in so many ways.
"It's just, truly, truly impressive."
Pash says she hopes to help the company grow and hopes to encourage more Cree youth to consider the aviation industry as a career.
Calling it a "new chapter" for the company, the chairman of Air Creebec, Derrick Neeposh, said Pash was the clear choice to take over the airline.
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