News
Release
October 28.2005
Lapierre is Wrong on Pearson Airport
OTTAWA – Today,
Conservative Transport Critic James Moore joined with Toronto's
Mayor and City Councilors, the GTAA, the Toronto area Liberal caucus
and airline industry stakeholders and travellers calling on Prime
Minister Paul Martin to condemn public comments made by Transport
Minister Jean Lapierre yesterday regarding concerns Moore raised
over unreasonably high rents at Pearson Airport. Moore is also
calling on Martin to make clear his government’s policy regarding
Pearson Airport’s role as a centerpiece in Canada’s transportation
network.
Moore was reacting
to comments made Thursday by Liberal Transport Minister Jean
Lapierre that airlines who do not like the high rents at Toronto
International Airport should move Montreal.
Moore said even more distressing is the fact that the
Minister refuses to recognize the injustice of having Pearson
Airport, with 33% of Canada's total airline passengers, pay 66% of
all airport rent revenues received by Ottawa. "Once again the
Transport Minister has revealed how poorly he understands the
airline industry, and how the Liberal government is arrogantly
taking for granted their past political support in Toronto," says
Moore.
Moore continued, "for the Minister to suggest that
travelers should cease use Canada's largest airport and move to
Montreal is beyond irresponsible and demonstrates a profound lack of
understanding of the importance of Toronto’s Pearson Airport as Air
Canada’s domestic hub for air service."
Concluded Moore, “the Conservative Party will continue to
fight for lower airport rents, taxes, surcharges, and for greater
competition in our skies. And we will work to build and support
Pearson Airport as it continues to service Toronto, and all of
Canada, as a centerpiece of Canada’s transportation infrastructure.”
-30-
For more
information, email
moorej@parl.gc.ca or call 613.992.9650
(Below are the
blues from the Standing Committee on Transport from Oct. 27th/2005.)
Standing
Committee on Transport
Comité
permanent des transports
EVIDENCE number
38,
Témoignages du
comité numéro 38
UNEDITED COPY -
COPIE NON ÉDITÉE
Thursday
October 27, 2005 - Le jeudi 27 octobre 2005
* * *
(0904)
[English]
The Chair (Hon.
Roger Gallaway (Sarnia-Lambton, Lib.):
Good morning, colleagues.
This morning,
as requested by the committee, we have with us Minister of Transport
Lapierre and with him his entourage of staff.
As I explained
to you before the meeting started, the Minister regrettably has an
emergency this morning. He will only be here for one hour. There
will be no opening statement. We're going to proceed directly to
questions and this is all done on the understanding that he will
return as soon as we can possibly arrange it, for the second hour.
It won't be today.
Having said
that, we will proceed to questions and we will start with Mr. Moore.
Mr. James Moore
(Port Moody-Westwood-Port Coquitlam, CPC):
Thank you very much, Mr. Chair, and thank you, Minister, for coming
here today.
We obviously
have a number of bills before the House right now. There are a
number of stakeholders with regard to Bill C-44. Let's talk about
that because it's an omnibus bill. A number of stakeholders have
contacted my office with differing concerns on Bill C-44.
Our party is
fully in favour of the commuter rail section and the section that
deals with international bridges and tunnels and so on because those
things, we think, are crucial for the future of our network, going
in and out of cities and across borders.
I have two
questions. Given that it's a minority Parliament and given that
brokerage and compromise is possible, why would you put forward an
omnibus bill? Omnibus bills are usually reserved for majority
Parliaments where the governing party can actually get things done.
Having omnibus bills is actually a pretty irresponsible step. Don't
answer that part because we have limited time.
But trying to
be constructive here, my question is, are you prepared to segment
Bill C-44, cut it up, and get these things passed individually as
David Collenette did in legislation in a previous Parliament, which
was a majority Parliament, when he recognized that important things
needed to happen?
Hon. Jean
Lapierre (Minister of Transport):
If I may, certainly, Mr. Moore, when we introduced that bill I said
that in this situation we had to have a consensus on the bill and
I'm still looking for the consensus. If there are parts that are not
part of a consensus, obviously I'm ready to consider that because I
know that all parts of this bill are important but we are here in
the art of the possible.
Obviously there
are certain parts that are problematic which may not for pass today,
or we could re-introduce them in some other form. I'm ready to
consider that positively.
Mr. James
Moore:
Just so you know, so it's clear, we, as the official opposition, are
prepared to sit down with you and do whatever is necessary to make
sure that Bill C-44 works and take out the provisions and have some
kind of meetings to that effect.
My second
question deals with the airport rent. At Pearson International
Airport the current rent formula, from what you announced earlier
this year, their rent is going to be reduced by about 6% but that
leaves them still in the position where they handle roughly
one-third of Canada's air traffic through Pearson Airport, but
they're paying 66% of the amount of airport rents that Ottawa is
collecting.
Air Canada uses
this as their hub internationally. And you don't see the United
States government taxing O'Hare airport. You don't see them taxing
Atlanta airport. You don't see them taxing major hubs of other
carriers the way your government and your policies are taxing
Pearson Airport.
The city
council is angry, the mayor is angry, the region is angry. Why
haven't you done anything for the GTAA?
Hon. Jean
Lapierre:
Well I'm sorry. If there is one airport that is enjoying the benefit
of the new deal, it's Toronto. Over the term of the leases, the
Government of Canada would have collected something like $13
billion. We had discussions with the Minister of Finance and
eventually one today and we now offer to all airports across the
country an $8 billion break and out of that $8 billion, $5 billion
is for the Toronto airport, so they're the big winner of what
happened with the revision of the leases.
It's unfair for Toronto to say that they're
being penalized more than others. As a matter of fact, all other
airports in the country would love to have their business. If
Toronto has too much business and if their rent is too high,
Montreal would welcome receiving their business.
They're getting
$5 billion rebate out of the $8 billion that we got from the
Minister of Finance, so they should be thankful; nothing else.
Mr. James
Moore:
Well they're not and they're furious and this includes Liberal
members of Parliament from that region and the city council and the
MLAs and the premier and the council and the mayor and nobody is
happy with what you've done there. It isn't working and frankly I
don't think it's a particularly helpful comment for you to come here
today and say, "If it's not working, fly to Montreal". I don't think
Liberal MPs from Toronto are going to be very pleased with that.
Mr. James
Moore:
In any event, I just want to take this opportunity to urge you that
the GTAA needs reform, the rent formula isn't working, I appreciate
you saying that it is but it is not. There's not a single
stakeholder in the region who thinks that it is.
Hon. Jean
Lapierre:
Talk to be about all the other airports across the country, do you
want congratulation letters that I got?
Mr. James
Moore:
Not from Toronto, Canada's national hub for our largest national
carrier.
