Yes but Brasilia simulators have been available in the USA for many years. No reason at all why Air North couldn't have used them, they are all FAA/EASA certified which is more than enough for CASA I would think.
Mt Cook airlines in NZ have been, until very recently, sending their ATR crews to Thailand for recurrent training... it's just the cost of doing business. If you can't afford to train in the sim, you can't afford to fly that type.
To me, the real issue is that CASA allow this type of training to happen when sims are available - whether they are in Oz or not.