The Real History of Pickering Airport

The history of the land set aside for Pickering Airport is a fascinating window into the development of Canada and the Greater Toronto Area (GTA). It is often presented as a dark tale of the politicization of infrastructure development, regional rivalry, and misinformation. It has been referred to as “the other Mirabel” for political and […]

The Moral Case for Pickering Airport 

By Mark Brooks The debate around the development of Pickering Airport is often focused on the business case, the demographics of growth and the environment.  What about the moral case?  What opportunities are we forgoing, and what future problems are we creating for our children, if we fail to build a new airport in Pickering? Is it […]

On-Track for Full Aviation Recovery in 2023

By Ted Nickerson, October 4, 2022 In the March 2022 posting, I identified that IATA (1) predicted that North American commercial aviation would reach 94% of the 2019 passenger traffic volume by year-end 2022 and reach 102% by year-end 2023.  Further, at that time the USA and Mexico were already near the 2022 forecast but […]

Canadian Oil Industry’s Net-Zero Vision Courtesy of Aviation

By Mark Brooks Western Canada’s oil industry is at the cutting edge of new net-zero energy emissions technology that will be the cornerstone of our 21st century economy. Yet, woke environmental academics and far left anti-capitalist opportunist are calling for the industry to be restricted, and then shut down. The next federal budget could mark […]

Why Organized Labour Will Like Pickering Airport

By Mark Brooks Jerry Dias, the President of Unifor, knows first-hand how terribly unforgiving the aviation industry can be. As president of Unifor, he represents more than 315,000 Canadian workers, including thousands of highly-skilled pilots, engineers and aircraft manufacturing workers. In August 2021, he threw his weight behind 700 striking De Havilland Aircraft of Canada […]

Aviation’s Moment of Truth in Canada’s Post-COVID Recovery

By Mark Brooks When the Berlin wall fell in 1989, socialist economics was declared a failure, and a world spanning free market capitalist economic system ruled supreme. Then a new crisis, global warming, in part caused by capitalism’s success in creating global prosperity, created an opportunity for a rematch. Over the last decade, aviation has […]

Buttonville Airport’s Closure Expected to Hasten Pickering Airport’s Development

By Mark Brooks The recent announcement of Cadillac Fairview’s (CF) purchase of a 100% stake in Toronto Buttonville Airport has important implications for the development of an aerotropolis in nearby Pickering. Buttonville airport, a busy GA (General Aviation) and utility airport, sits on a 169-acre property in the City of Markham. Considered a prime site […]

Passenger Aviation in the Toronto Region Will Recover Sooner than Expected

By Ted Nickerson To say that commercial aviation has been devastated globally by the COVID19 pandemic would simply be stating the obvious.  Millions of jobs and many billions of dollars have been lost. Some airlines may never recover. Now in June 2021, there is light. What is the long-term effect of COVID on global mobility? […]