Transport committee  Yes.

Transport committee  I guess I would just ask you what problem you would be trying to solve that you can't through an elected process—

Transport committee  Victoria International Airport is self-financing and self-funding. We haven't made any applications, nor do we foresee that. I was speaking more for the six NAS airports that have been precluded from—

Transport committee  I'm putting my association hat on. I'm saying that I believe all six were successful in achieving funding this past year through their applications. I don't know the nuances of all the individual applications at this stage, but I understand they have been successful. The issue is

Transport committee  Similarly, we're talking. We have discussions of flight paths. We have certain restrictions, including operating hour restrictions. I think it's important to engage with the community on a regular basis.

Transport committee  No, it's throughout Canada, within the Canadian Airports Council, which is our advocacy group for the Canadian airports. It's structured into the eight largest airports in the country and then all the other member airports, the smaller airports. That's typically the airports that

Transport committee  The Quebec City airport certainly is. I think there's just Quebec City, but I'm not 100% certain on that.

Transport committee  They certainly can.

Transport committee  If they had an interest in being pushed forward at the federal level, if they had access to information, best practices in airport management.... There are a number of different committees, whether operations or environmental management practices, that come together with the airp

Transport committee  Well, it's the same. The first comment I would make, though, is that we're not necessarily built for surplus capacity. We tend to design and build our airports just in time; we like to be just ahead of the demand curve. There are really two things at play. As YVR grows and ad

Transport committee  The six airports that were identified are part of the National Airports System. One of the criteria for being an NAS airport is that you have to be self-sufficient to be eligible for that level of funding. The other criterion was a volume of 525,000 passengers, and the airports

Transport committee  The funding levels haven't changed for 18 years, and the program was put in place in the late 1990s.

Transport committee  Considerably, yes. With the escalation on different types of equipment, a fire truck, for example, could cost $1 million. Those are significant investments that airports need to make to maintain safety and the overall level of their infrastructure.

Transport committee  That threshold hasn't changed.

Transport committee  Madam Chair and ladies and gentlemen, thank you also for the opportunity to speak to you this afternoon. My name is Geoff Dickson. I am the president and CEO of the Victoria International Airport and I'm also chair of the Canadian Airports Council small airports caucus. Just so