MPs To Boost Local Airports

Paul Delahanty, www.blacklocks.ca
The Commons today is expected to pass a motion expanding federally-regulated security screening to regional airports across the country. Local authorities blame the lack of screening for loss of air routes.

“The motion is not controversial at all and everybody is supporting it,” said MP David Christopherson (Hamilton Centre, Ont.), New Democrat chair of the Commons public accounts committee; “Why did all that have to happen? That is the part I don’t get. If it is such a great idea and the Conservatives are so supportive, one would think one of their backbenchers would have grabbed onto this.”

Of 200 commercial airports nationwide, 111 are local airfields not federally regulated. The Commons motion would permit smaller airports to join the national airport security system, though Transport Canada has not detailed what it will cost local authorities.

“Many smaller airports believe the sole obstacle to establishing new commercial services out of their airports is the absence of passenger screening,” said Conservative MP Pierre Lemieux, parliamentary secretary for veterans’ affairs. “If these routes are economically viable for the air carriers, then they may in fact be right as Canada’s major airports require that passengers be screened before they can transfer to other flights.”

The 89 federally-regulated airports see passenger screening managed by the Canadian Air Transport Security Authority, with costs partially paid by customer fees ranging from $15 on domestic flights to $26 on overseas tickets.

“It would make little sense to require government-mandated security screening at all of these regional airports as it would be an inefficient and ineffective use of security dollars,” said Conservative MP Rick Dykstra, parliamentary secretary for heritage; “Those individual airport commissions or boards are going to take on responsibility for the cost.”

At least ten regional airfields have petitioned to join the national security network including Fort Nelson, B.C.; Dawson City, Yukon; Edson and Cold Lake, Alta.; St. Catharines, Ont.; and Puvirnituq, Trois-Rivières, Schefferville, Bromont and Sherbrooke in Québec.

“We are doing our best,” said New Democrat MP Pierre-Luc Dusseault (Sherbrooke), sponsor of the motion; “We hope this matter will be settled as soon as possible.”

Dusseault’s Motion 553 satates, “That in the opinion of the House, the government should present as soon as possible a mechanism that would allow non-designated airports – that is, airports that are not on the list of airports designated under the Canadian Air Transport Security Authority Act – to provide at their expense CATSA security screening”.