Labour allies rally against federal government's plan for possible airport privatization

Labour allies took to the street outside Calgary International Airport Monday for a demonstration by the Public Service Alliance of Canada – Prairie Region and Union of Canadian Transportation Employees, who oppose the potential privatization of Canada’s major airports.

The federal government has brought forward the idea of privatizing four Tier 1 airports — in Calgary, Toronto, Montreal and Vancouver — which Union of Canadian Transportation Employees vice-president Mark Grimson said raises safety concerns for the travelling public.

Canadian airports are nonprofit, meaning that all money they make goes directly back into the airport to ensure that they are run at the most successful level there is, he said.

“Calgary Airport, as an example, has the lowest passenger cost per person in the airport industry,” Grimson said. “There’s no room to make additional money. So where’s that room going to come from? It’s going to come from the employees.”

The rally aimed to prevent privatization by informing travellers that the model was proposed by the federal government.

It will also cost Canadians if the model doesn’t succeed, Grimson said.

“Our costs are going to go through the roof because airport improvement fees are controlled currently by the airport and by the government, but as a for-profit company, we’ll be trying to make money off of that,” he said.

He hopes the federal government opens the door to discussions for alternative solutions.

So far, they haven’t been included in these conversations, Grimson said.

“This is the frustrating part because these are our workers,” he said. “These are the people that come in and with them not knowing and with us not knowing, we don’t see the future of it working the way that it needs to.”

The model has been attempted before in Australia and London Heathrow Airport, where they have both failed, Grimson said.

Canada needs to learn from countries that tried privatization in the past, which led to no payoffs for the community and workers, said CUPE Alberta president Raj Uppal.

Uppal said the community needs to educate themselves on the impacts of privatization.

“Then we take accountability as a community and speak to our elected officials to convey the message that privatization is a bad idea,” she said. “It only profits and brings in, you know, profits to just the stakeholders, but it leaves behind the community and the workers. I think Carney needs to scrap this idea, and workers and communities do not give him permission to take off.”

Selling airports to private investors and industry is a mistake, said Union of Canadian Transportation Employees national president Barry Tchir.

Taking that money from investors will have them look to gain a 15 to 20 per cent return, which will have to come from somewhere, he said.

“These airports are run efficiently and managed well,” Tchir said. “All the money that is generated goes back into the community, infrastructure, maintaining the buildings and maintaining safety. Putting these out to private industry puts that at risk.”

Tchir said Canadians opposed to this idea should reach out to their MPs and ask questions.

“No one’s getting any information on how it’s going to happen, what’s going to happen or what their plan is other than they’re looking at selling off an asset,” he said. “They’re looking at selling off a public asset to private industry. We look at that as a recipe for disaster.”

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