Ottawa’s airports plan will mean higher costs, NDP leader says

Ottawa’s airports plan will mean higher costs, NDP Leader says DAVID BAXTER OTTAWA THE CANADIAN PRESS PUBLISHED 44 MINUTES AGO UPDATED 24 MINUTES AGO Open this photo in gallery: NDP leader Avi Lewis says the government’s plan is clearly privatization. ADRIAN WYLD/THE CANADIAN PRESS COMMENTS SHARE SAVE FOR LATER Listen to this article Learn more about audio Log in or create a free account to listen to this article. NDP Leader Avi Lewis says it’s “disingenuous” of the government to refer to its plan to allow private investors to bid on operational stakes in Canada’s four largest airports as anything but privatization. Flanked by his caucus and labour leaders outside the House of Commons earlier today, Lewis said private operations will likely mean higher traveller fees at airports in Toronto, Montreal, Calgary and Vancouver. He said the government’s plan is clearly privatization because it is turning a public asset over to investor control for decades. What could airport privatization mean for travellers in Canada? The government maintains it will still own the land and airports would still be subject to the same safety regulations. Ottawa has also said money brought into federal coffers from any contracts with investors could be reinvested in smaller regional airports to lower fees at those locations. NDP transport critic Heather McPherson says the government already makes $525-million annually from airports and could put that money back into regional hubs. Sign up for the Politics Insider Newsletter. Your essential weekly reading on what matters in Canadian politics (subscribers only) SUBSCRIBE EXPLORE NEWSLETTERS Report an editorial error Report a technical issue Comments Read or post comments Diversions Horoscope Daily astrology with Sally Brompton Daily Crossword Solve today's puzzle Daily Cryptic Witty word play at its best Sudoku Three difficulty levels to solve Follow related authors and topics FEDERAL POLITICS (CANADA) FOLLOW POLICY AND REGULATION FOLLOW PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION AND GOVERNMENT FOLLOW TRANSPORTATION INDUSTRY FOLLOW Authors and topics you follow will be added to your personal news feed in Following. Interact with The Globe GLOBE CLIMATE CHANGE NEWSLETTER Our world is changing Take a deeper dive into Canada’s environment and climate change news from Globe reporters SIGN UP GLOBE EVENTS Women's Mental and Brain Health - From awareness to action September 28 | Join The Globe in person or virtually for an event…