The federal Transport Minister recently announced
his support for construction of a rail link between downtown Toronto, which is
his riding, and the Toronto Pearson International Airport. Unfortunately, he
made the bold statement that a rail link would make the Toronto City Centre
Airport redundant. He forgot completely about the tremendous role that the
airport serves for thousands of medevac flights that use this airport to service
a large number nearby hospitals, not to mention flight training, business and
private aviation that depend on this facility. The minister’s comments raised
hope for local Toronto groups that have long opposed a downtown airport.
Following shocked reactions from several people in the aviation, the minister’s
assistant released a statement that the minister was merely musing about City
Centre’s future. COPA President Kevin Psutka has responded to the minister
emphasizing the errors in his comments and the trouble they have caused. The
full content of this letter appears on the COPA Web site:
www.copanational.org. Click on the
COPA homepage article titled, “COPA president responds to minister musings.”
You can help save Canada’s general aviation airports like Toronto City Centre.
Send a letter to The Honourable David Collenette Minister of Transport.
Emphasize the importance of general aviation to you and to Canada. Express your
concern for the erosion of general aviation airport facilities and ask him to
support the future of Toronto City Centre Airport.
E-mail: mintc@tc.gc.ca
Fax: 613-995-0327
Mail: Minister of Transport
330 Sparks St., Ottawa, ON K1A 0N5