CBC Misses the Big Story

What happens when a young reporter from the City meets a slick well-practiced “Rural” lobby group hunting for cheap leases on a Billion dollars of government land?  It’s a classic scene with all the right virtue signalling of farming, the environment, and food security. A warm fuzzy setup covering the warts of a Big Money ask. […]

O’Connell’s Baffling Misread Of The KPMG Report.

The recent release of a report from consulting firm KPMG, regarding when to build Pickering Airport, has Canadian political observers holding their breath. The report lays out why the Greater Toronto Area needs a new airport, states where it will be built, presents a business plan and when to break ground. The plan for construction […]

What is the real goal of a biased Pickering Airport Troll Poll?

Last week a local Durham newspaper appeared to run a poll with a leading question underneath a letter from a local pro-airport supporter. It’s the sort of biased online survey that has become the staple of divisive politics around the world. A selectively worded poll with a leading question and leading answers. It can be […]

Land Over Landings Billion dollar ask of the Canadian tax payer.

The recently released Land Over Landings ( LOL for short)  “AG study”, is billed as a pathway to prosperity.  But whose prosperity, why is LOL making this pitch, at what cost and who is paying?  The why is simple enough, LOL is a lobby group for residents and a handful of tenant farmers privileged to […]

Is Stouffville’s town council funding an airport misinformation war ?

The town of Whitchurch-Stouffville made the national news recently when a bizarre “mind-map” was found on the mayor’s office washroom wall. Another strange event didn’t make the news but left some residents equally annoyed and wondering if there is something in the water at city hall. When the official town sponsored monthly paper called “On […]

Are Pickering insiders setting up a multi-million dollar tax payer funded windfall?

  The federal airport lands in Pickering, a billion dollar public land reserve just east of Toronto, are owned by the Canadian tax payer. For years It has been leased out on short term one year leases to commercial and tenant farmers. But now, there is a possibility, thanks to either a deliberate or unintentional […]

Does Land over Landings have a conflict of interest?

    Land over landings (LOL for short) advertises itself as a grassroots agriculture and conservation group. On its web site, in the press, at every opportunity, it goes out of its way to broadcast that there is no business case for a new airport in Pickering. It attacks experts and politicians alike that dare […]

Is Pickering airport another Mirabel?

Is it valid to compare Pickering and Mirabel airports? A quick fact check shows that they are polar opposites. Here are three key differences: The reason to built is different. Mirabel airport was a politically drive creation. It was built in the 1970s to try and jump start Montreal’s economy. It was intended to replace […]