The Manitoba government is proceeding with the sale of aircraft previously dedicated to wildfire suppression and general transportation that are considered surplus due to signed agreements with Babcock Canada and Exchange Income Corporation.
Aircraft currently dedicated to air ambulance are not being sold at this time. Furthermore, Manitoba retains ownership of its leased water bombers as per the wildfire suppression agreement with Babcock Canada.
“Contracts for wildfire suppression and general transportation services were awarded to aviation companies with strong track records and with large fleets of available aircraft that are in better shape than those the government owns,” Infrastructure Minister Ron Schuler said. “Selling these planes while they are still airworthy maximizes the value for the Manitoba taxpayer.”
Aircraft included in the sale at this time are:
- three single-Otter aircraft, which were previously dedicated to wildfire suppression as transport aircraft;
- one Piper Navajo, previously used for general transportation; and
- one twin-Otter aircraft, previously used for general transportation.
As part of the request for proposals (RFP) process, the Manitoba government also requested bids, under a separate process, to purchase aircraft previously used to provide wildfire suppression and general transportation services. The Manitoba government has received bids for these aircraft and can now move forward with their sale, as they are no longer needed due to the signed agreements with Babcock Canada and Exchange Income Corporation to provide wildfire suppression and general transportation services respectively, the minister said.
The RFP process for the air ambulance service remains ongoing and the five aircraft being sold at this time are not dedicated to the air ambulance program, Schuler noted.
