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Ontario Premier Doug Ford says he is fully on board with the prime minister’s plan to see private investors take over operations at Canada’s four largest airports, including Toronto Pearson.
Ford says not only is the idea “fabulous,” but it should be expanded to include Toronto’s island airport.
The premier has been pushing for the Billy Bishop Toronto City Airport to be expanded so it can accommodate jets, continuing his push even after the federal government rejected the plan.
He says the island airport is an ideal project for privatization, as it is “shovel ready” and would greatly benefit the economy.
“The PM is on fire, he’s moving,” said Ford at an unrelated news conference. “He’s privatizing airports that should’ve been done years ago.”
WATCH | Carney pitched plan to privatize Pearson and 3 other Canadian airports:
Airport private investment makes sense now ‘in different times,’ Carney says
Asked why the Liberal government is choosing to allow private investment in four of Canada’s largest airports now when prior governments rejected the plan, Prime Minister Mark Carney said his government is building the country in a more dangerous, divided and ‘hostile’ environment.
Prime Minister Mark Carney announced Tuesday that under his airport pitch, the federal government would retain ownership of the land and assets.
He says the government is not looking to privatize airports but rather to change their operational structure, and the government would reinvest money that’s raised into regional airports.