What is Pickering Airport’s Employment Zone?

  An AEZ (Airport Employment Zone), also called an Airport Economic Zone, or an Advanced Enterprise Zone can be defined as: A centre of urban and regional economic growth, which relies on the speed and flow of the economy of an airport. For industry, an AEZ enables a global connection to customers, employees, and logistics. […]

Can a Green Fee save Pearson Airport and surrounding businesses from Mayhem?

  Toronto Pearson Airport and the economic zone it creates is in trouble. Thanks to regional population growth, roadside and airside congestion at the airport is expected to become commonplace. The mayhem of long line ups, delays, and staff shortages observed during the Christmas travel timeframe of 2022 will become a weekly event. Along with […]

Monday Night BANANA Politics in Pickering

  Did the April 24th, 2023 Pickering City council meeting go absolutely BANANAs (Build Absolutely Nothing Anywhere Near Anyone) over a motion playing municipal politics with a federally mandated new airport? While the city has little control over if and when the airport is built, that did not stop two local councilors from putting forth […]

A Letter from the President of the Buttonville Flying Club.

Pickering Airport is One Step Closer to Reality By: David Sprague, President Buttonville Flying Club April 22, 2023 Toronto: Recently, members of the Buttonville Flying Club attended a series of publicly held municipal planning meetings.  On behalf of the 200 plus members of the Buttonville Flying Club, part of the Canadian Owners and Pilots Association, […]

Final Pickering Airport Capacity Study Airborne Again!

The need for a new airport in Pickering is back under the magnifying glass of Transport Canada in what could be its final needs assessment. Launched, then withdrawn, the study is now back on. Nothing it seems can stop the final Pickering airport study from getting airborne. The Minister of Transport himself, the Honourable Omar […]

Can Aristotle help us understand recent Pickering Airport media coverage?

The new Pickering airport is a critical part of Canada’s future economic and aviation infrastructure.  Yet the stories recently appearing in our local press rarely mention this. They do not quote aviation or business organizations and rarely touch on the benefits of the airport.  Instead, they are covering the topic with a political focus. Why […]

Why do Advanced Industries Locate Near Airports?

By Mark Brooks Toronto’s Lester B. Pearson airport is the center of an advanced industrial zone that is at the forefront of the reindustrialization of Canada. The PEZ (Pearson Economic Zone) is now Canada’s second largest employment zone, employing 400,000 people and contributing $53 billion to Ontario’s economy. But why, even with land prices soaring, […]

What are the Next Steps on the Path to Pickering Airport?

A new airport in North Pickering just east of Toronto is now one of the centerpieces of the Durham Region’s draft official plan. While the plan must still be approved by the province, this is expected to be a nonissue. So, what are the next steps on the path to shovels in the ground on […]

Philosophically Speaking…#3: A Pyrrhic Victory?

by Ted Nickerson The pending decision by Pickering Council is not going to change the status of the Federal Pickering lands. The above statement is not meant to diminish the importance of the pending decision, nor to be critical of the motion’s proponents.  It just means that the motion, if successful, will not achieve what […]

Philosophically Speaking…#2: Where’s the Business Case?

By Ted Nickerson Building on my first “Philosophically Speaking” posting, I think the topic of the business case for the current and future use of the Federal Pickering lands deserves comment.   I offer several perspectives on this.  Is there a business case for farming, or for an airport?  Where are they?  What does the North […]