Mr. Speaker, two weeks ago the member of Parliament for Niagara Falls and I attended a ceremony initiating the transfer of the Niagara District Airport from the federal government to local authorities.
Local authorities in St. Catharines, Thorold, Niagara Falls and Niagara-on-the-Lake have been working together toward the transfer for quite some time. The national airports policy announced by the transport minister last summer provided a perfect opportunity to make the transfer a reality.
Local control of the airport will provide a more hands on approach where local stakeholders can be directly involved in airport responsibilities. The transfer will enable the airport to run in a cost effective and competitive manner and be better equipped to respond quickly to local commercial opportunities.
We thank the Minister of Transport and his officials for a smooth transition.