The voice of Canada’s airports.
Tuesday, July 24, 2007 -
Airports group says Canada’s airports part of
making Canada
a competitive player on the global stage
BOSTON (July 24, 2007) – In a speech today
addressing the National Business Travel Association, Canadian Airports Council President
and CEO Jim Facette said Canada’s airports are doing their part in positioning
Canada to compete globally.
Mr. Facette said in his speech that Canada’s airports agree with a recent report
from the House of Commons Standing Committee on International Trade in its
spring recommendations to the government to improve Canada’s international business
competitiveness. Among the recommendations was a call to accelerate
international air service liberalization and modernize domestic policies.
“In the spring of this year, a committee of
our elected federal government officials said that Canada needed to develop an
international business strategy.In
particular, it recommended an increase in liberalized air service agreements as
a key enabler to growing Canada’s
international competitiveness.We
agree,” said Mr. Facette.
While encouraged by news that Canada will engage in air service talks with the
European Union in the fall, Canada’s
airports remain frustrated by slow progress on air service talks.
Mr. Facette said that for airports, a
competitive business strategy also means good domestic policy. In its report, the
standing committee contends that in order for Canada to be given a chance to
compete on a level playing field, it must “modernize and strengthen its
infrastructure, tax, regulatory, human resources, innovation, and other
domestic policies to ensure that Canadian companies are as well positioned as
they possibly can be to compete in the global economy.”
“For airports, sensible domestic policy
means a change to how Ottawa collects rent from Canada’s
airports,” said Mr. Facette.“Rent is a
cost of doing business that has driven up costs and one that our allies, the
air carriers, are aligned with us on.”
In fiscal year 2007-08, Canada’s
airports will pay nearly $290 million in rent.Rent places Canadian airports at a competitive disadvantage to U.S. airports
and other modes of transportation.The
CAC has been seeking a change to the formula for collecting rent that would
eliminate the current penalty on airports that have risen financing to expand
their facilities through capital investment projects.
“As we do our part on the global stage, we
need a playing field that provides airports and the communities they serve the
opportunity to grow.With each
additional passenger or cargo airplane serving a community in Canada, it provides both direct and
indirect jobs,” said Mr. Facette.“Canada’s
airports will continue to do their part in the development of a Canadian
international business strategy.”
About
the Canadian Airports Council
The Canadian Airports Council (CAC) is the voice for Canada’s airports.Its 46 members represent more than 150 airports, including all of the National Airports System (NAS) airports and most significant municipal airports in every province and territory. Together, CAC members handle virtually all of the nation’s air cargo and international passenger traffic and 95% of domestic passenger traffic.They create well in excess of $30 billion in economic activity in the communities they serve.And more than 150,000 jobs are directly associated with CAC member airports, generating a payroll of more than $8 billion annually.