Good morning.
My presentation will be in English, but you can ask me questions in French.
My name is Toby Lennox. I am vice-president of corporate affairs and communications for the Greater Toronto Airports Authority. I first would like to thank you very much for the opportunity to appear before you today to provide our perspective on Bill C-42, an act to amend the Aeronautics Act.
As many of you know, the GTAA is the private not-for-profit corporation that operates Canada's largest airport, Toronto Pearson International Airport. Toronto Pearson is truly a global gateway connecting our country with the rest of the world. We handle approximately one-third of Canada's air traffic in any year, and about 50% of all Canada's air cargo. This activity fuels Toronto Pearson's role as a critical economic engine for southern Ontario and, indeed, for Canada. We generate tens of thousands of jobs and billions in annual economic output, wages, and taxes.
In the past, Mr. Chairman, I have appeared before your committee on behalf of both Toronto Pearson and the Canadian airport community, and one consistent message that we have brought forward is that aviation security is critically important to our business. The security of North America's skies and the global air transportation system profoundly impacts the operations and financial health of Toronto Pearson, as well as all of Canada's economic and social interests. It is for this reason alone that we're presenting to you today.
While Canada's airports are not involved in the development or maintenance of no-fly lists and we do not gather, hold, or transmit the personal information identified in Bill C-42, we do support both your consideration and passing of this proposed legislation. We believe this legislation is consistent with international law, which explicitly outlines the right of any country to regulate foreign carriers entering that country's airspace, but in addition to this, we recognize the importance of this bill for two reasons.
First, as you have heard from our Canadian airline customers, inaction would result in significant operational hardships for airlines, and by extension and perhaps more importantly, this impact would reduce the selection of routes, services, and access for Canadians.
Canada was built upon air and aviation links. A large number of flights that depart Toronto Pearson every day are required to overfly the United States. If this bill is not passed, air services that currently overfly American territory--for example, flights to South America and the Caribbean--would no longer be feasible. For Canadian-sourced flights, it is simply not commercially viable, or indeed operationally viable, in some cases, to fly around American airspace. The impact on Canadian air carriers' passengers and the resulting negative impact on the economy is a very compelling reason to support Bill C-42.
The second reason for our support of this bill is that we believe it strengthens aviation security globally. As we have discussed with this committee before, Toronto Pearson believes that collectively we must find enhanced and efficient ways of identifying, assessing, and mitigating threats to security through holistic means. One of the key operational initiatives that we support is the enhancement of collaboration and intelligence-sharing. If we have learned anything from the cargo-bomb plot originating in Yemen and from the events of last December 25, it is that intelligence is one of our best defences against security threats. Bill C-42 provides one means for Canadian air carriers to work with our American neighbours to identify, detect, and deter terrorist threats.
When discussing aviation security, we believe it is important to frame the discussion not in terms of specific airports or even national terms, but in terms of the shared threats to our continent. We support the continued efforts of the Government of Canada and the United States to address common threats of terrorism while ensuring the free flow of travel and trade across the border.
Mr. Chairman, most will agree that the threat to aviation is real. We take this threat very seriously because we recognize that a security incident originating at our airport would likely result in crippling economic consequences. These consequences would surely extend beyond the borders of the Greater Toronto Area and would take years to remedy. We cannot afford to be reactive. We would like to ensure that security legislation and policies in Canada are developed from a proactive strategic perspective.
There are significant policy directions we feel the government should pursue to strengthen the effectiveness and coordination of aviation security, and Bill C-42 is at least a step in the right direction. We emphasize that this bill represents merely one step in a more comprehensive approach to aviation security.
We do acknowledge the privacy concerns raised by some with respect to the implementation of this amendment. In addition, we commend the committee for encouraging open debate on the merits of this bill.
We believe it is important to protect the civil rights of Canadians, and as such, we agree the information that is collected and disclosed to foreign governments should be handled carefully and only be used for the stated purpose of aviation security.
In conclusion, Toronto Pearson considers the safety and security of our passengers and air carriers to be of the highest priority. It is a key element in all we do, and we work diligently with our stakeholders to ensure Canada's aviation security program is holistic, integrated, and world class.
We encourage the committee to support Bill C-42 to ensure these very important amendments are enacted to support global efforts to combat terrorist threats to the North American aviation system. The bill will allow air carriers to continue to operate over U.S. airspace, which is critical to their operations as well as to the economic development potential for the Greater Toronto Area and for Canada as a whole.
I would be pleased to answer any questions the committee may have, both at this session and at any member's convenience.
Thank you.