PICKERING AIRPORT WOULD CREATE JOBS

Devolin Column (Dec 2)

Recently, I was pleased to hear that the process to build a Pickering airport has been launched by the Greater Toronto Airport Authority (GTAA). If this proposal is found to be environmentally acceptable, such a regional airport could become a reality in the next decade.

It is well known that improved transportation infrastructure is sorely needed if we are going to attract more good jobs into communities such as ours east of Toronto.

I think we all recognize that retaining young people and bringing more young families into rural communities and small towns is an ongoing challenge, and I acknowledge that much effort is already being made in this area by economic development organizations such as Community Futures and the business incubator at the Frost Campus of Sir Sandford Fleming College.

It is clear to me that access to a regional airport in Pickering would be a boon to business and industry located in Durham, Kawartha Lakes and Peterborough – and would serve as an added incentive to companies contemplating a move into our area.

This GTAA proposal would see Pickering airport open by 2012 for general purposes aviation such as recreational aircraft and flying schools, as well as allowing corporate aircraft to land in Durham, rather being forced to travel across Toronto from Pearson.

By 2032, this new airport would also have a passenger terminal accommodating up to 10 million passengers each year. (To put this number in context, about 50 million travelers are expected to be traveling through Pearson at that time.)

As such, Pickering would serve as a "regional reliever" for general aviation from the Buttonville, Markham and Oshawa airports when it opens in 2012 and would handle commercial spillover from Pearson International Airport starting in 2022.

The first step in the GTAA process is a comprehensive federal environmental assessment looking at all aspects of the proposal – including environmental, social, transportation and economic impacts. This process is expected to take two or three years, and will offer numerous opportunities for public input.

I have no doubt that a regional airport in Pickering would have a significant and positive economic impact on Haliburton-Kawartha Lakes-Brock. It would allow local employers greater access to regional and national markets. Eventually, it might even allow the rest of us easier access to those south-bound charter flights to visit Mickey and friends...