Business View Magazine Feb 2023

214 BUSINESS VIEW MAGAZINE VOLUME 10, ISSUE 2 Robitaille points out that there are often other companies doing business who use the airport as well – there is a hydroelectric project that is using the airport for staging right now who are flying in and out a few times a week. “Some of the other initiatives we are looking at for the new year are based around the idea of improving the quality of the airport. An example of this would be doing a complete mill and overlay of the apron, which for the last few years has been repaired as needed, leaving a combination of old and new pavement. That project is slowly in the works,” says Robitaille. “When you are depending on only one source of funding you have to prioritize, and sometimes it is hard to convince a city that they should spend a million dollars on an apron or five million on a runway. We have to justify expense over benefit,” Robitaille notes. Looking ahead to the future of the airport and to the job that Robitaille has prospered in for decades, he points out the ingredients needed for success. PREFERRED VENDOR/PARTNER n North Star Air www.northstarair.ca n Northeastern Ontario www.northeasternontario.com “The thing is, I still love what I do,” he concludes, “I love coming to work every day and I love how there is always something new to deal with. As I like to say, there is not one storm that is the same. And when you get to put your creativity into what you do, it makes it interesting and fulfilling.” “There are some unique challenges to working at a smaller airport, and there are some unique challenges to working with cargo. And the thing is, I know we are never going to be a larger commercial airport, but we are still thriving as we are. My biggest challenge is the funding, but we do what we can with what we have and the future is continuing to look bright,” he predicts.