LETTER TO TRANSPORT MINISTER: Re Victoria Harbour Airport

The Honourable John Baird
Minister of Transport, Infrastructure and Communities
Tower C-330 Sparks Street
Ottawa, Ontario K1A 0N5

Dear Minister,

I am writing in support of the letter to you from Victoria Mayor Dean Fortin (dated Dec. 21, 2009) regarding noise and air pollution associated with the Victoria Harbour Airport.

A special Standing Committee of Council examined this long-standing problem and presented its recommendations in December. These recommendations were approved by Council and were forwarded to you with the Dec. 21 letter. For your convenience I have also attached them to my letter today.

Council is urging you to adopt these five recommendations in the interest of ensuring a sustainable airport harbour that protects the quality of life for Victorians. Already there are serious problems associated with the existing number of float planes that use the airport. These problems escalate every year with the significant annual increase in float plane traffic, and the additional impact of helijet traffic and the dramatic growth in the size and number of cruise ships stopping at Victoria.

The federal government, with its significant responsibility for the harbour, must step up to the plate and address the jurisdictional and regulatory gap with respect to the critical quality of life impacts of noise and air pollution. My constituents are determined to be heard, and I wholeheartedly support them and the City of Victoria in their call for action.

Sincerely,

Denise Savoie
Member of Parliament, Victoria

CC: Mayor Dean Fortin
Michael Henderson, Regional Director General, Transport Canada