Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I am pleased to know that there has been some recent work looking at the amendments to our current Public Airports Act to harmonize it with other acts. Another area which has been grey for some time is the clarity and the authority around the disposal of assets on airport land that has plagued the Department of Transportation for many years. Finally, the issue of Yellowknife Airport governance has been mulled over many times in the past 20 years, yet it appears we are no further ahead in trying to maximize our economic benefits for Northerners.
My question today for the Minister of Transportation: Can the Minister give us a brief update as to what might be in store with the upcoming changes to the Public Airports Act and when can we expect to see it be brought before the House?
Thank you, Mr. Dolynny. The Minister of Transportation, Mr. Beaulieu.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The Department of Transportation is proposing amendments to the Public Airports Act to make the act more efficient and effective. We are finalizing a legislative proposal to amend the act and we’re hoping that a review for that will be before committee within the next month or so. Early 2015 is our schedule. We are looking at things like harmonization with the Motor Vehicles Act, giving people at the airport the same authority that lie within the Motor Vehicles Act. We’re looking to extend leases at the airport. There are a few things that are laid out in the legislative proposal, like I indicated, that we would be discussing with committee soon.
What we’ve heard from the Minister today is very encouraging, but the disposal of assets on airport lands is about as confusing as it comes. There are blurred lines of confusion on the role of the department and that of its Minister.
That said, can the Minister share with Members what changes may be forthcoming that could clarify the level of authority and responsibility of both the department and the Minister with respect to such asset disposal?
I suppose there would be two different categories of assets. Assets that are left by a lessee on the property site, the disposal of those assets is laid out in the lease how the disposal of assets is determined. If assets are left behind, it’s laid out in the lease so that it falls under that responsibility. The disposal of assets that are owned by the government and how we dispose of that, we go through the regular process of providing the asset to Public Works for disposal and Public Works will determine if no other government department would be using that asset or need that asset, then it would go to the next process of going through the disposition of that asset.
Historically, lease arrangements and the length of terms of airport lands have been nothing short of a dog’s breakfast in design. Can the Minister indicate to the House what is his department prepared to do to encourage tenant growth and meet the growing needs of current leaseholders on all our airport lands?
Within that review of the Public Airports Act, we’re extending the leases to a maximum of 30 years. That gives them a longer period, so something more definite. We also lay out in the lease that there would always be a market value for the lease. So every five years we do a market assessment on the lease and then the individuals are advised. If there is to be an increase on the lease payment, then the lessee is advised eight months in advance of any increases. We’re hoping that this will build more certainty for the individuals that are leasing at the airport.
Thank you, Mr. Beaulieu. Final, short supplementary, Mr. Dolynny.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The department has attempted numerous times to investigate opportunities to improve management efficiencies at the Yellowknife Airport. However, during this administration there have been no real investment opportunities pursued, resulting in limited impact on the economic benefits for Yellowknife and Northerners.
Can the Minister inform the House how much emphasis the Department of Transportation is placing on making governance at the Yellowknife Airport Authority a priority?
The Department of Transportation has identified the Yellowknife governance as a project that we should be reviewing. This review of the governance at the Yellowknife Airport is going to be done under the Refocusing Government Initiative by this government. We’re going to look at the management options at the airport so that we’ll review all the options. The Department of Transportation is working with Finance to look at these. We’ve also hired a consultant to specifically look at all of these for consideration, probably by the next government.
Thank you, Mr. Beaulieu. The Member for Deh Cho, Mr. Nadli.
