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National Post
an hour ago
- National Post
Ottawa-imposed 'airport rent' is driving up cost of plane tickets, think tank finds
OTTAWA — A leading free-market think tank is calling on Ottawa to stop playing landlord to major airports, arguing that exorbitant land rental fees are driving up the cost of domestic air travel. Article content 'Using airports as cash cows instead of treating them as critical infrastructure hurts families, workers, and patients who depend on reliable air service for treatment access,' says Samantha Dagres, the communications manager at the Montreal Economic Institute (MEI). Article content Article content Canada's airports are operated by private, non-profit organizations, known as airport authorities, but the land they sit on is owned by the federal government, which collects rent. Article content Article content These costs are passed down to air travellers, making up as much as a third of the airport improvement fee tacked onto the price of their ticket. Article content The average airport improvement fee charged on a Canadian domestic flight is $38, according to Westjet. This is twice the corresponding Australian fee and four times more than what U.S. air travellers pay on their tickets. Article content Canadian air travellers also pay higher airport security charges and, indirectly, aviation fuel excise taxes than their Australian and U.S. peers. Article content All told, MEI found that government-imposed taxes, fees and rent charges made up as much as 43 per cent of ticket prices along major domestic routes. Article content 'Reducing the cost of air travel is entirely within Ottawa's control, because it is Ottawa that is driving prices up in the first place,' said Dagres. Article content Dagres and her colleagues found that the government-levied charges on a Toronto to Montreal flight alone ($68) were enough to pay for a budget flight from Los Angeles to Las Vegas. Article content This isn't the first time that Ottawa's ownership of airport lands has been tied to higher ticket prices. Article content A Senate committee recommended in 2013 that Transport Canada make a plan to phase out rental fees and transfer ownership of airports to the airport authorities that operate them. Article content 'Many witnesses raised concerns that these rents do not take into account the differing state and value of airport facilities when they were first transferred to the airport authorities … Since the airport authorities are mandated to be not-for-profit entities, witnesses told the committee that these costs are recovered from users,' wrote committee members.
Globe and Mail
an hour ago
- Globe and Mail
Letters to the editor, Aug. 18: ‘Pierre Poilievre should stick to constructive proposals and quit attacking Mark Carney'
Re 'The Trump-Putin summit isn't Munich, 1938. It's Paris, 1973″` (Report on Business, Aug. 15): U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio recently stated that, in order to bring the war in Ukraine to a conclusion, both Russia and Ukraine must make concessions. This framing ignores a fundamental truth: Russia is the aggressor, having invaded Ukraine first in 2014 and again in 2022. What concessions did the United States make to Japan to end the Second World War? Peter Rozanec Toronto Re 'Only outcome' (Letters, Aug. 15): 'Vladimir Putin started this and must pay the full price.' In a word: yikes. After the First World War, the Allies took the same approach: Germany had caused massive carnage, and so the German people should have to pay restitution. The government did not have the cash, so it fired up the printing presses. The resulting inflation obliterated the German middle class and set the stage for Adolf Hitler. Dealing with him cancelled out any cash the Allies received from the treaty ending the war, and then some. To their everlasting credit, Allied leaders learned from that experience. After the Second World War, there were no calls for reparations. Instead there were boatloads of rebuilding aid and, lo and behold, former enemies became customers and trading partners. Decades of prosperity followed. God forbid, but if the current situation evolves into world war, let's remember the lessons of the 20th century. Ken Johnston Ottawa Re 'Disquiet on the Western front of the tariff war' (Editorial, Aug. 14): I believe it is a mistake to think that if we hand over Canada's electric vehicle market to China, they will be kind and reliably buy our canola. We should not be buying anything from China, except where we have no choice. China is by far the world's most powerful autocracy. It is systematically taking over one economic domain after another, with EVs next in line. The more we buy from China, the more we empower a tyrannical and threatening regime. Losing the Chinese canola market hurts a lot. But it is a price we should pay to stand up to them. We should make a serious push to trade and collaborate with like-minded liberal democracies, which no longer includes the United States, and become more economically and militarily self-reliant. The powerful are on the march and have no use for rules. Elbows up. Jim Paulin Ottawa You note that the auto, steel and aluminum industry jobs being protected by the federal government are in 'Liberal-friendly ridings.' Without getting into a deep discussion of how far auto industry workers commute to get to their jobs, an examination of the Ontario ridings where auto assembly plants are located, and how they voted in the last election, reveals a large percentage in Conservative ridings. There is Stellantis Canada's head office in Windsor, along with a minivan assembly plant; Volkswagen's PowerCo electric vehicle battery plant in St. Thomas; General Motors's CAMI Assembly in Ingersoll; Toyota's assembly plants in Woodstock and Cambridge; Honda's assembly plant in Alliston; GM's assembly plant in Oshawa; the head office of Magna International, Canada's largest auto parts maker, in Aurora. As for Liberal ridings, there is the Stellantis car assembly plant in Brampton and Ford Canada's Oakville Assembly Complex and head office. Greg Keenan Editor, Trillium Network for Advanced Manufacturing; Toronto Re 'Carney says supports for canola sector coming after facing criticism from Poilievre' (Aug. 15): Hopefully the federal government will address the unfair impact of Chinese tariffs on canola growers. Wab Kinew made a good suggestion: Use money from electric vehicle tariffs to compensate canola producers. Pierre Poilievre made the same proposal, but also took shots at British Columbia's Chinese ferry contract and accused Mark Carney of not caring about the West. Notably he did not suggest removing EV tariffs, which might give Canadians access to reasonably priced cars. If Mr. Poilievre is serious about opposing Alberta separatists in his new riding, he should stick to constructive proposals and quit attacking Mr. Carney. He might even talk to the Prime Minister instead of demonizing him. We need all hands on deck to deal with the trade war; we don't need Mr. Poilievre firing from the sidelines. David Steele Saskatoon It's sad that China has suddenly put a huge tariff on Canadian canola, causing a huge loss to Western farmers who stand to lose so much. It's sad that this represents a huge chunk of our national economy, with so many jobs at stake. But we've been here before. Whenever China wants to harm Canada, it stops importing our canola. We learned this the hard way six years ago. So why have we let canola exports to China again become such a vulnerable part of our economy? John Horman Waterloo, Ont. Re 'Northern Ontario communities propose widening sections of Trans-Canada Highway' (Aug. 13): Widening the Trans-Canada Highway should be a no-brainer as an infrastructure project. This is also true in mountainous British Columbia, where the narrow TCH gets shut down regularly due to collisions or transport trucks going off the road. But rather than a piecemeal approach, there should be a federally funded national highway plan, perhaps modelled on the U.S. Interstate Highway System. Such a plan would improve the efficiency and safety of commercial, personal and defence transportation from coast to coast to coast. It would set design, construction and maintenance standards across Canada, with deep involvement by provinces, territories and local communities. Highway travel would also be more enjoyable and safe with regular rest stops and clean flush toilets, rather than the more common pit toilets. To achieve this latter need, perhaps a new government role is needed: a minister of toilets. Glenn Johanson Columbia–Shuswap Regional District, B.C. Re 'For Saskatchewan, Chappell Roan's name-check serves up a surge of interest' (Aug. 13): No one has yet name-checked the song Girl in Saskatoon by Johnny Cash and Johnny Horton. Those of us who lived in Saskatoon in 1960, which I did, could not help but feel a little proud of being singled out by the great country and western singer (though, actually, I truly dislike country and western music). The song has an odd and somewhat tragic history. Mr. Horton died shortly after penning the tune with Mr. Cash. And despite being promoted by the record label, the song never hit the charts – except in Saskatoon, of course. However after a Saskatoon woman, who performed the song on stage with Mr. Cash in 1961, was later murdered, he apparently never sang the song again. Perhaps this is why it has fallen out of our collective memories of Saskatchewan's pop music history. Nancy Bjerring London, Ont. Letters to the Editor should be exclusive to The Globe and Mail. Include your name, address and daytime phone number. Keep letters to 150 words or fewer. Letters may be edited for length and clarity. To submit a letter by e-mail, click here: letters@
National Post
an hour ago
- National Post
Inside Poilievre's long journey back after his Alberta byelection campaign
OTTAWA — Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre is one of 214 candidates — and not even the only Pierre on the ballot — fighting a byelection that was never part of his plan. Article content Monday's vote in Alberta's Battle River—Crowfoot riding, despite the lengthy roster of candidates, should be an easy win for Poilievre. But spending his summer campaigning in rural Alberta was a high price to pay to look Prime Minister Mark Carney in the eye during question period when the House of Commons reconvenes in September. Article content Article content Eight months ago, polls suggested the Conservatives were a slam dunk to form government. Instead, Poilievre lost his own seat in the Ottawa-area riding of Carleton and his Conservatives suffered a crushing defeat to Carney's Liberals. Now, Poilievre faces a daunting, multi-year journey to get a second shot at the country's top political post. Article content Article content Despite his year from hell, Conservative party insiders — both Poilievre's friends and foes alike — say the path to victory may have its share of hurdles but that it's far from impossible. Article content Anthony Koch, the managing principal at AK Strategies and former spokesman for Poilievre, said the party needs to recognize that change is necessary and carefully focus on 'winning' issues. Article content 'We have to move on from the last election,' he said. Article content First, Poilievre will need to convince his fellow Tories that he deserves a second shot and that he's their best bet to win the next general election. Article content After Monday's byelection, Poilievre will turn his attention to the Conservatives' leadership review, part of a national policy convention in Calgary at the end of January. A secret ballot vote on a party's leader following a fourth consecutive general election loss would often be contentious. Party leaders often don't get second shots. Article content Article content But most party sources do not anticipate that Poilievre will have a problem hanging on to his leadership for two main reasons: he's still popular in most party circles and there's no active challenger waiting in the wings. Not only is nobody else actively organizing for a run at the Tory leadership to this point, but few party faithful even have confidence in identifying who the serious contenders might be. Article content 'There's no clear competitors,' said one Conservative source in Ottawa who is plugged into party circles across the country. Article content But that doesn't mean that Poilievre is universally popular within his party, some emphasizing that it's not healthy if the leadership review is treated as an afterthought. The party was ahead by as much as 24 percentage points a few months before the April election, they point out, when the incumbent government was tired and facing a struggling economy. It was a winnable election, they say, which means a healthy debate about party leadership is needed. Article content Some believe Poilievre was a big part of the problem. Article content But unless a formidable challenger steps forward, the main drama during the leadership review will likely surround the level of Poilievre's support and whether that number surpasses the various arbitrary thresholds that are presented. Some pundits say anything under 65 or 70 per cent would raise questions, but few doubt that Poilievre will remain as leader. Article content If he does, next will come the third and most difficult electoral hurdle: the next federal election. Article content Can Poilievre win over Canadians? Article content While Conservatives may be willing to let Poilievre get his ducks lined up for another run at 24 Sussex Dr., it's unclear if the majority of Canadians share that view. Article content A number of things will likely need to happen for Poilievre and the Conservatives to break the Liberals' streak of four consecutive wins. To begin with the most obvious, the incumbent Carney government must not have shown too much success in dealing with key issues, such as big projects, housing, and perhaps most of all, the economy and the Trump tariffs that threaten it. Article content Article content The Conservatives may also need a comeback of sorts from the New Democratic Party, or perhaps another party left of the Liberals. Without somebody shaving off significant chunks of votes from Carney's progressive flank, the numbers are tough for the Tories. Article content And finally, Poilievre and his team will need to deftly navigate the second and trickier track of his journey: working out which tactics, allies and personal characteristics need to be altered, scrapped or added. Article content That path forward, which is well under way, will be difficult to craft and even more difficult to execute. Article content The first question for Poilievre — not a no-brainer for many who know Poilievre — is whether he is willing to change. Or even if he should try to. Article content While the Tory leader is far from beloved by a fair number of Conservatives he's worked with over the years, most agree that a good chunk of his appeal within the party base has been his consistency and authenticity as an unapologetic and unrelenting conservative. There's little doubt that his beliefs on free markets, small government and almost anything that can be deemed a form of freedom are sincere. Article content When asked last month by National Post during a press conference whether he planned to do anything differently after the election loss, Poilievre didn't point to any specifics, saying that the party's mission remains the same: to offer Canadians 'a government in waiting' and the opportunity to work hard and reap the benefits with a good life and safe communities. Article content 'Every election comes with lessons,' he told reporters in Ottawa. Article content Poilievre also acknowledged that the electoral landscape may have changed beyond this past election and that the Conservatives need to expand their support and pull in a bigger vote share to form government. Article content 'Forty-one per cent might not be enough in the future,' he said. Article content Party sources say that Poilievre has been active in calling party loyalists and others to gather views on the usual campaign post-mortem questions: what went right and wrong and what needs to change. Article content Rick Perkins, a former Nova Scotia MP and a Poilievre supporter, said the summer away from Parliament has been a blessing for the party's leader because it's allowed him to reflect, think about the issues, and re-connect with the grassroots. Perkins said that Poilievre is well aware that change will be part of the recipe to broaden the party's support. Article content The new Pierre Article content In his public appearances since the April election, there have also been subtle signs of a more conciliatory approach. Article content A month ago, for example, Poilievre was interviewed on the CBC Radio program The House, where he seemed to be trying to appear less combative and more statesmanlike. Article content The fact that he agreed to a CBC interview of any kind was a change in direction after months when he and other Conservative MPs avoided the public broadcaster. When speaking about Carney's inability to get any concessions for Canada in trade talks with the United States, Poilievre offered: Article content 'I don't blame him entirely for that. Obviously, he's dealing with some unfair treatment by the Americans.' Article content That interview and what may be a less combative approach during other post-election appearances may be signs that Poilievre realizes that he has no choice but to broaden his support to win. And that means being more conciliatory, bringing more people to his side. Article content Article content 'I think that he sees that he was missing opportunities,' said one Conservative source. Article content But many Tories also acknowledge that self-reflection and self-doubt are neither Poilievre's inclination, nor his strength. Article content One Conservative who says he knows Poilievre well says there's a limit to how much the party leader will be willing to change about himself. 'I don't know if he can.' Article content That source also said that Poilievre needs to have the humility to accept that he lost and that there were reasons for that, beyond the Trump tariffs and Justin Trudeau's resignation. Article content Ginny Roth, Poilievre's director of communications during his leadership campaign in 2022, said a lot of people overthink the question of what to change about the Tory leader's personality. Many of the same traits that some people want Poilievre to soften, she said, are the ones that allowed him to generate a massive YouTube following and convince many people to vote for the first time. Article content 'I think you have to let Poilievre be Poilievre and let the chips fall where they may,' Roth said during an interview, 'because the things that people may perceive as his weaknesses, the flip side of that are his greatest strengths.' Article content The debate about Poilievre's electoral ceiling remains, particularly about the roots of his halcyon days of less than a year ago when he was riding high in the polls: Article content Was such a large swath of the country really behind the Tory leader, or was his sizeable lead more a function of the public's desire to get rid of Trudeau? Article content Many Conservatives point to the party's increased vote total to say they lost only because Trump handed Carney his ideal ballot-box question. The counter argument is that both major parties — not just the Tories — significantly increased their vote totals during the election because the tariff threat focused voters on choosing which of the two major parties and leaders was best able to deal with the threats from the south. Article content Like most political leaders, some say that Poilievre is simply not the right person to be leader because too many Canadians don't like him and won't vote for him. Article content One Conservative organizer said Poilievre is simply too arrogant to change or accept that he was only leading in the polls last year because the public wanted Trudeau out, not him in. Article content One experienced Conservative campaign figure, not a Poilievre supporter, said there is no path to victory with Poilievre at the helm. 'We are just gearing up to lose another election,' he said. 'People aren't clamouring for change right now because they have it in Mark Carney.' Article content Carney's advantage Article content Most Conservatives admit that Carney presents a whole new challenge for the party. Not only is he enjoying a luxurious public opinion honeymoon, voters also rate him highly on issues that historically favour the Tories, such as managing the economy. Article content 'Conservatives can't win without winning on the economy and pocket-book issues,' said Dan Robertson, a former chief strategist for the Conservative party and the co-founder of ORB Advocacy, in an email. Article content 'In the penultimate week of the campaign, a 2,800 sample poll by Focal Data (a U.K. research firm) showed that the Liberals led the Conservatives on three of the four most salient issues. More worryingly, it also revealed that the Conservatives failed to win convincingly on the economy, the price of housing and affordability in general.' Article content Robertson said the Conservatives need to fight back on those issues, but also try to raise the salience of other issues, like crime and immigration. Article content In a recent Abacus Data poll designed to measure the traits that Canadians want in a leader, Carney 'significantly outperforms' Poilievre on nearly every score. The gap, the poll from late July found, was particularly striking among 'accessible voters' who say they're open to voting for either party. Article content The poll, based on surveys of 1,915 Canadian adults between July 10-15, found that Canadians see Carney as a calming force compared to Poilievre's combative public image. Sixty-nine per cent of respondents said Carney is 'calm and steady during uncertain times,' compared to 50 per cent for Poilievre, and 66 per cent said Carney 'avoids unnecessary conflict and doesn't pick fights for the sake of it,' compared to 44 per cent for Poilievre. Article content David Coletto, chief executive of Abacus, concluded from his poll that Carney is more than just liked at this time by Canadians. 'He's seen as competent, principled, and measured, qualities that resonate strongly with the electorate right now.' Article content For Poilievre, Coletto wrote, the picture is more complicated. Respondents gave him strong results on a number of questions, including a majority of Canadians (55 per cent) saying that the Tory leader 'understands ordinary Canadians.' Article content The problem from the Conservatives' perspective — at least for now, months or years before the next election — is that Carney outscores Poilievre in nearly every way among the broad electorate. Article content 'While his supporters see him in highly positive terms, and his ratings are strong within the Conservative voter universe, his alignment with broader public expectations is weaker,' Coletto wrote. 'Canadians are not vague or passive about what they want in a leader. They want someone who puts the country first, understands their challenges, and brings a clear, steady hand. Right now, Mark Carney is meeting those expectations better than Pierre Poilievre, not just with his own base, but with the people in the middle who will decide future elections. Article content Poilievre faces other challenges too. Article content There's a fine line between making changes so that you're the best possible candidate, but also not appearing to be so fungible that you're not authentic. And the advice coming to Poilievre is as contradictory as it is strident. Article content One Conservative source said Poilievre needs to stop being the 'know-it-all nerd' because 'there's no charm in it.' Another Conservative source said Poilievre needs to go back to embracing his 'inner nerd' so that he comes across as more himself. Article content The team remains the same Article content Another area of possible change is in the team around him. Article content After the election loss, it was assumed by many pundits and party faithful that dumping campaign manager, long-time ally and former girlfriend Jenni Byrne was a no-brainer. Article content Byrne, like Poilievre, is seen as a sharp, seasoned political organizer but one who can alienate other Conservatives by being unnecessarily confrontational and insisting on an approach that sometimes comes across as 'my way or the highway.' Article content Public fights with Conservative premiers Doug Ford of Ontario and Tim Houston of Nova Scotia, which many believe were largely triggered by Byrne's aggressive approach, were widely seen as own goals that were costly and avoidable. The two premiers, or at least those in their orbits, weren't the only Conservatives to endure Byrne's wrath over the years — and not want to come back for more. Article content Byrne said earlier this month that she would not be the Conservatives' campaign manager for the next federal election, although she didn't rule out another role. One Conservative source said most other key members of Poilievre's circle, however, have remained. Article content For Poilievre, a passionate policy wonk since his teen years, adjusting his platform in any significant way to make it more digestible or centrist might be for him the most contentious consideration. It may be a non-starter. Article content For much of the post-election months, the party's strategy seems to have been conduct the post-mortem, keep the loyalists engaged, focus on the byelection and keep your head down until Carney's political honeymoon inevitably takes a step or two back. Article content Article content But Carney hasn't made it easy on the Tories. The new prime minister has moved his party swiftly to the centre-right on many issues: reducing personal income taxes, cancelling the consumer portion of the carbon tax and the digital services tax, reversing Trudeau's planned increase on capital gains tax, plans to reduce the size of the bureaucracy, investments in defence, support for pipelines and other infrastructure projects. That has left Poilievre and the Tories with less room to operate and mine for support. Article content During one summer event, the contrast in styles between the popular prime minister and the embattled opposition leader couldn't have been much starker. Article content As he shook hands, posed for photos and joked with Alberta Premier Danielle Smith about his hapless attempts to flip pancakes, Carney gave every indication that he was enjoying the Calgary Stampede, despite talk that these types of back-patting, hand-shaking events are far from his idea of a good time. Article content According to a pool report, Poilievre, meanwhile, stayed in his car, apparently waiting for the United Brotherhood of Carpenters event to end. Or at least for the prime minister to leave. Article content With a twisty, long journey in front of his desired path to Sussex Drive, Poilievre will need to show that same patience if he's to replace Carney any time soon on the much larger stage. Article content
