“The Big Lie” But Who is Telling It?!

By Ted Nickerson News Flash – November 2021 “The Big Lie Exposed”, a media release by the lobby group Land Over Landings states that the Transport Canada-commissioned study says an airport in Pickering Ontario is not needed by 2036. https://landoverlandings.com/resources/the-big-lie-exposed/ Oh, really!  This pronouncement makes me think of the phrase “If you tell a lie […]

Just-Released FOI Provides Shocking Insight into Pickering Airport Fight

By Mark Brooks There are two completely different interpretations of a government report meant to clarify the future development of Pickering Airport. The first was from government back-bencher MP Jennifer O’Connell whose press release was published by a lobby group only 101 minutes after the report was made public. The MP’s press release stated that […]

Understanding the Political Financing of Jennifer O’Connell, MP Pickering Uxbridge

By Ted Nickerson and Mark Brooks There’s an old joke about requiring politicians to wear a NASCAR like uniforms that tell us who their sponsors are. In Canada we like to think we are above such nonsense thanks to a ban on corporate donations. But this is no defense against special interest groups, political action […]

Did A Government MP give lobbyists a sneak peek at a confidential report?

By Mark Brooks Did Jennifer O’Connell, Member of Parliament for Pickering—Uxbridge, or someone on her staff, give lobbyists and other interested parties a sneak peek at a then-confidential Transport Canada report? The million-dollar consultant’s report, called the Pickering Lands Aviation Sector Analysis (ASA for short), suggests breaking ground on the new airport in 2026, building in stages from […]

Failed Anti-Airport Petition raises big Questions

By Mark Brooks In October, 2020, the Member of Parliament for Pickering-Uxbridge, Jennifer O’Connell, sponsored an E-Petition in the House of Commons calling on the federal government to cancel a new airport being planned in North Pickering. It called for the existing leases on a billion-dollar government land parcel to be extended for decades to […]

Transform Pickering: The Airport Perspective

By Mark Brooks and Ted Nickerson On November 18, 2020, the Urban Land Institute (ULI) held a virtual event called “Transform Pickering: Big Moves in the GTA’s Frontier City”.  Moderated by Emma Ward (Bousfield Inc), the session provided a forum for Dave Ryan, Mayor City of Pickering, assisted by Paula Bustard, Fiaz Jadoon, and Johan Van’t Hof, to present key strategic projects and the long-term vision that will fundamentally transform the City of Pickering.   The City’s vision […]

Assault on Oshawa Airport Misguided

The Oshawa Airport, located in the Greater Toronto Area, is very busy with residents complaining about the increasing noise from aircraft, despite new flight restrictions implemented by the Airport. Oshawa is part of Durham Region, one of the fastest growing areas in North America. This region and five of the local mayors, have a solution that […]

Who is funding Anti-Airport Politics in Pickering?

By Mark Brooks Today, five of the six local municipal governments, including the city of Pickering, support building  a new airport and economic development zone. But aviation is a federal jurisdiction and one of the local Members of Parliament, Jennifer O’Connell, is opposed. The new airport, to be built on land already set aside for it […]

Is an MP authorized E-Petition promoting Misinformation to reward supporters?

Written by Mark Brooks The hubris of a new E-petition authorized by Member of Parliament Jennifer O’Connell is raising eyebrows on both sides of the Canadian House of Commons.  The reason?  It appears to twists the findings of a government report and use misdirection in the wording of the petition.  The petition asks the government to transfer a […]