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 […]

Saving the Businesses on the Pickering Lands

Written by Mark Brooks The recently released KPMG ASA report states that development of Pickering Airport is now viable, and suggests breaking ground on a new industrial airport in 2026. The suggestion is to start with a minimal footprint that can be expanded as needed.  The new airport will be built on thousands of acres […]

Who is Leasing the Pickering Airport Lands?

By Mark Brooks In response to a Freedom of Information request, we have received the list of leaseholders for the Pickering lands retained for economic development, including an airport. A big thank you and shout–out to Transport Canada for doing what they could on this politically–charged topic.  Although heavily redacted, the response provides enough information […]

Misinformation to Stall Airport

by Mark Brooks A citizen, worried that the pandemic is being used as cover to reward insiders, writes a letter to his Liberal MP.  The reply he received was laced with misinformation and should worry every Canadian. It highlights the lack of leadership and wishful thinking now delaying the development of new infrastructure in Canada.  In […]

A call for Transparency on Government land leases

It reads like a B-movie script for a government scandal. A billion dollars in government land leased out to a select few, mostly unknown, insiders well below market rates.  Brave local mayors and town councils harassed at every turn as they fight to get the attention of a distant uncaring federal government. The local citizen […]

Aviation Will Come Roaring Back!

By Ted Nickerson In 2019, major international aviation agencies (ICAO, IATA) predicted that global passenger volumes would double by 2037.  Annual passenger growth had been healthy, and all looked well.  That changed in early 2020 when the COVID-19 pandemic struck. Cities, regions, and even countries went into lock-down.  Borders closed.  Aviation commercial passenger volumes crashed.  […]

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. […]

$4 Billion in “Modest Expansions” Accounting

The Study commissioned by Transport Canada, Pickering Lands Aviation Sector Analysis, concludes that through “modest expansions in aircraft apron and air terminal facilities”, Pickering Airport’s passenger capacity is not needed before 2036. The Study uses the phrase “modest expansions” to describe billions of dollars of additional aviation facilities that are stunning in both scope and cost.  All […]

Ending the “Build Pickering Last” Strategy

On March 5, 2020, Transport Canada released the Pickering Lands Aviation Sector Analysis (the Study). It was much awaited, and hopefully will be the definitive study on the need for and timing of a new commercial airport in Pickering, Ontario. Its message is simply, “The question is now when, not if, a new airport should be built”. […]

Pickering Airport in a Post-Pandemic Toronto

Right now the Canadian economy is crashing under the fear and anxiety created by a global pandemic. Under today’s conditions, communal vehicles – buses, trains and planes – are breeding grounds for the virus. Until today, the number one method of communal travel between provinces and internationally was air travel. Post-event, how will the pandemic change […]