On a day he was in Edmonton to celebrate the breaking of ground on a new international cargo hub, federal Transport Minister Steven MacKinnon spoke about the need to privatize airports across Canada.
“We’re at the start of the process and really understanding what these asset profiles are,” he said. “I don’t think it’s any secret in terms of volumes, how airports stack up in the country. So, we’re going to take them one by one.”
Before speaking to the Edmonton Chamber of Commerce Wednesday afternoon, MacKinnon was at the Edmonton International Airport for a news conference. The project is expected to create 250 new airport jobs and 800 more construction jobs. It’s a 2,000-acre project which only adds to the largest airport in Canada by physical size.
And MacKinnon said an announcement of more defence assets being placed in Edmonton will likely follow.
“The Edmonton airport will, in turn, play an important role in the Canadian Armed Forces going forward,” he said. “I think an entire squadron will be based there. That means maintenance, that means hangars, that means people in uniforms, that means people in logistics and other kinds of roles who will be added to the complement of what’s already an important part of the Canadian Armed Forces. It doesn’t exist without supportive and supporting infrastructure. So it all feeds on each other.”
But the promises didn’t stop there. MacKinnon said that the Port of Vancouver is vital to Alberta’s trade strategy, but it’s “sadly underbuilt for this day and age.” It has to be modernized, and he pledged that more representation from the Prairie provinces would be placed on the port’s board. At the same time, he said labour disruptions have to come to an end — negotiations between unions and management in Canada’s supply chains need to be done in good faith, and can’t wait until the 11th hour. He stressed that strikes or the threats of strikes erode international confidence in Canada’s ability to be a good place in which to do business.
Airport expansion. International trade. Expanding the military. Greater co-operation with the Port of Vancouver. Put it all together, and you have a pretty strong rallying cry for national unity, when a potential Alberta separation referendum looms on the horizon.
MacKinnon talked about how large a role Alberta plays in the Canadian economy. He spoke about a nation-building strategy, the likes of hasn’t been seen since the Last Spike.
“We have built an incredible, incredible country. Some of the best health care in the world. Some of the best institutions in the world. Canada is an amazing place,” said MacKinnon. “There is nothing that can hold us back.”
He quoted legendary New England Patriots coach Bill Belichick. “Everyone has a job,” MacKinnon said. And it was fitting — because his speech sounded very much like a locker-room pep talk.
It was easy to lose count of the times MacKinnon uttered the term “nation-building.”
Said MacKinnon: “We have a job together, and that is building and building Canada’s economy.”
He added that Ottawa and Alberta are “Sharing goals, sharing hopes, sharing aspirations.”
After his rallying cries to the Chamber, MacKinnon, who represents Gatineau, didn’t apologize for the federalist boosterism.
“I want to point out that I talk about Canada’s potential everywhere I go, and every part of this country has enormous potential,” said the minister. “That is particularly true in Alberta, and it’s important, I think sometimes, to have someone come from outside the province to remind folks just how impressive and promising the future is as we see it, as we pursue this economic strategy of diversifying new markets, of improving our trade and other infrastructure and, yes, helping provinces achieve their economic aspirations. That’s our message everywhere we go — ‘Build Canada strong’ is kind of the moniker we live under, and that means building a strong Alberta, too.”
Chamber president Doug Griffiths said that it is time for Canadians to lose our trademark humility and start the hard sell when it comes to letting the world know what this country has to offer, from raw materials to an educated workforce to excellent research facilities.
“For too long, Canadians have been content and modest about what we have. That era is over,” he said.
Myron Keehn, the president and CEO of the Edmonton International Airport, said the hub is a key part of the federal government’s strategy to double non-U.S. international trade in the next decade.
“Supply chains are being reset. This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity,” he said.
But Mike Lake, Conservative MP for Leduc-Wetaskiwin, said in a later statement that while it’s great to see investment in Edmonton’s airport, “we still need to remove all of the taxes from fuel for the rest of the year.
“This would allow more Canadians to enjoy the benefits of our airports across the country, from taking a well-deserved trip to buying products that move through these important cargo hubs.”
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