Letter from Transport Minister Lawrence Cannon to MP Mark
Holland
MP Mark Holland wrote on May 3, 2006
to Transport Minister Lawrence Cannon to raise a number of
issues concerning the proposal for an airport in north Pickering
and treatment of tenants on the Pickering Lands. After a number
of attempts to obtain a response, the letter below was received
from the Minister the second week of September. Mark addresses a
number of concerns about this letter in
an e-mail update to
members of the community.
August 31, 2006
Mr. Mark Holland, M.P.
House of Commons
Ottawa ON K1A 0A6
Dear Mr. Holland:
Thank you for your correspondence of May 3, 2006, regarding your
concerns with respect to the Pickering Lands Site. I too support
open and constructive discussion.
As you know, the federal government is engaged in long-term
planning to ensure the protection of the Pickering Lands for
future aviation needs. Transport Canada is conducting a due
diligence process, which is a review of planning studies related
to a potential future airport at Pickering with technical
experts. The studies under review cover a number of topics
relating to aviation demand, airport capacity and ground
transportation access. Public representatives with technical
expertise in each of these three topics will also be invited to
participate, and the process for selecting these public
representatives will be discussed with you shortly. Once the due
diligence review is complete, the department will brief
stakeholders and the interested public, and Transport Canada
will make its findings public.
Based on these findings, the federal government will decide
whether to proceed with a federal environmental assessment. I
assure you that, should Transport Canada decide to take this
next step, the public would once again be able to participate,
as the environmental assessment process incorporates full public
consultation. Transport Canada is committed to providing an open
and transparent process that incorporates public representation
as an integral part of deliberations and proceedings.
In the interim, Transport Canada remains
custodian of the Pickering Lands and is responsible for ensuring
that the lands are managed in a prudent manner. Given that legal
proceedings are ongoing, it would be inappropriate for me to
comment on Ontario Rental Housing Tribunal rulings at this time.
Nevertheless, I must emphasize that Transport Canada is
committed to treating tenants in a fair and transparent fashion.
As you know, tenants have full rights to dispute their
terminations at the Ontario Rental Housing Tribunal, and some
have done so with legal representation. This Tribunal is the
recognized, quasi-judicial body in Ontario that ensures fairness
and transparency in landlord-tenant matters.
I should note that a 24-hour, 7-day a week National Call Service
Centre exists for tenants to report concerns. Furthermore, to
improve tenant service, Public Works and Government Services
Canada contracted SNC Lavalin ProFac to provide day-to-day
service delivery, including responding to tenant complaints
regarding rental units. This contract took effect May 1, 2006.
When deciding to terminate a tenancy and obtain vacant
possession for the purposes of demolition, Transport Canada has
relied on various independent third-party building inspections
and assessments. Our methodology has been endorsed by a leading,
private sector financial consulting firm and is fair and
transparent.
As part of its decision-making process, the department also
considers the local heritage significance of structures.
Transport Canada continues to assist local heritage evaluations
in response to local interest. We are also conducting research,
on our own initiative, to determine whether there are any
potential funding sources for local heritage projects. You may
be interested to know that Transport Canada recently had repairs
made to the Tullis Cottage as a result of a complaint about a
leaking roof. The tenants indicated that they were pleased to
have been involved in the discussions regarding the types of
materials to be used and the brand of shingles to be installed.
I trust the foregoing has responded to your concerns. I look
forward to our continued collaboration in addressing issues
regarding the Pickering Lands. Again, thank you for writing.
Yours truly,
The Honourable Lawrence Cannon, P.C., M.P. |
