Mr. Speaker, I rise to follow up on a question put to the Minister of Transport on May 30. I reflected on some words the minister used in a committee meeting that afternoon which put into question the future of the airports in New Brunswick, Saint John airport, Fredericton airport and Moncton airport.
All three airports are having a difficult time maintaining viability because of a convergence of two government policies. One is the divestiture policy which divested the Department of Transport of these three airports and put responsibility for them to the communities. The other one is the merger of the airlines. These two policies are starting to cause a great deal of difficulty for the airports.
In his comments the minister seemed to indicate that the future of these airports was at question. When I asked him about this he did not do anything to alleviate anyone's concern. He said the marketplace will determine which local airport authorities and which airports have the best means of serving the public.
He went on to say that in reference to airports in New Brunswick, the people of New Brunswick will make accommodations and sacrifices in the same way they do in Ontario in using their airports. He then went on to say there is no pretence at all that those airports should disappear. The question is not whether they should disappear. The question is will they survive?
Will the Department of Transport and the Minister of Transport ensure that these three longstanding airports survive and are viable, and continue to serve the people in the communities of Fredericton, Saint John and Moncton? Will the Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Transport absolutely ensure the survival and prosperity of the airports in Saint John, Fredericton and Moncton?