Canada's Keewatin Air (KEW, Winnipeg International) has flown into political turbulence after being awarded the official air ambulance contract for the Province of Manitoba, with opposition politicians accusing the province's government of cronyism in awarding the contract.
A subsidiary of aviation-industry investment firm Exchange Income Corporation (EIC), Keewatin Air is the successful bidder for a ten-year contract to provide medevac services for the province using a mix of five jets and turboprops. In a statement, EIC announced the undisclosed type of aircraft were in the process of being acquired. They would be modified with up-to-date medical interiors and phased into service towards the end of the 1Q24.
Yet, Canada's New Democratic Party has criticised the deal, noting that Manitoba Premier Heather Stefanson's husband, Jason Stefanson, works for EIC. It claims Stefanson refused to recuse herself when decisions were made regarding the company, reported the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC). In a statement, NDP health critic Uzoma Asagwara accused the Progressive Conservative provincial administration of long-term handouts to the Premier's friends ahead of an October 3 provincial election. Asagwara also noted Keewatin Air was a defendant in a negligence claim filed by the family of a Covid-19 patient who died in 2021, but the allegations have not yet been tested in court.
ch-aviation has reached out to Keewatin Air for comment.
Last month, another EIC subsidiary, Carson Air (CRN, Kelowna), was also awarded a ten-year medevac contract by the Province of British Columbia, signalling an expansion of EIC's medevac business. Chief Executive Officer Mike Pyle explained: "Our medevac operations are a capability we have invested considerable capital and accumulated industry-leading experience over the last five decades to become the market leaders in Canada. Based on our proficiency in this industry and the consistent demand, it is a business line we have sought to expand."
With a fleet comprising Beech (twin turboprop) King Air 200/B200, PC-12, and Cessna Aircraft Company Citation 560 aircraft, Keevatin Air is the primary provider of fixed-wing air ambulance services in all three regions of Nunavut and rotational medevac services in Manitoba. It also provides contract and general air charter services in Manitoba and Canada. It operates from three bases in Manitoba - Winnipeg International, Thompson, and Churchill- and from five arctic bases: Iqaluit, Igloolik, Rankin Inlet, Cambridge Bay and Yellowknife.
