Press release
The GSDAM re-emphasizes its support to ADM's Dorval investment project and urges the federal government to revise ADM's lease
Le Groupe de soutien au développement des aéroports de Montréal
Montreal, April 14, 2000 The Groupe de Soutien au Développement des Aéroports de Montréal, an organization regrouping the main metropolitan economic development agencies, re-stated this week its full support to the Aéroports de Montréal project involving the extension and modernization of Dorval airport at a cost of $498 million.
In its testimony hearing before the Permanent Committee on Transportation at the House of Commons in Ottawa, GSDAM representatives stated that the proposed investment at Dorval was both very reasonable and highly desirable, and that the project should be initiated and underway as soon as possible.
Furthermore, the GSDAM spokespersons, Pierre Laferrière, president of the Board of Trade of Metropolitan Montreal; Pierre-Yves Melançon, vice-president of the Montreal Island Regional Transportation Commission; Jacques Girard, president of Montreal International; and Charles Lapointe, president of Tourisme Montréal, have urged the federal government to do everything possible to support the implementation of this project.
"We ask the government of Canada to reopen the lease granted to Aéroports de Montréal so that ADM will be in a position, realistically, to use a larger part of the cash-flow from the operations and improvements at Montréal's airports and apply it to the development of sophisticated infrastructures that will meet the economic requirements of a fast-growing metropolis," said the spokespersons.
The development parameters defined by ADM are realistic and they must be implemented in order to meet the demands of both carriers and passengers. Providing better service to these clients and partners is an essential ingredient if the local air transport industry is to develop and if the metropolitan region is to reap the resulting economic benefits.
"The Greater Montreal area is the only region in Canada that has to deal with two major airports," stressed the GSDAM. "This means there will always be differing opinions among the representatives of the two airport regions, whenever investments are discussed. However, all the GSDAM member organizations, who together represent the vast majority of businesses and of private citizens within the metropolitan region, all support the development project unveiled by ADM's management. The same is true of a majority of members of the Société de Promotion des Aéroports de Montréal as some three-quarters of them have co-signed a support letter to ADM's management regarding the implementation of its Dorval development project."
The support of the GSDAM and of a majority of members of SOPRAM has been clearly brought to light before the federal government's Transportation Committee.
This hearing also gave the GSDAM an opportunity to tell commission members of the involvement of Montreal's business community, as united under the GSDAM, and of the efforts by ADM and by governments, to develop air transportation traffic and airport activities at Mirabel.
Montreal International is busily promoting the Mirabel airport to international companies as a location for their logistics and distribution centres. Together with a number of partners from the metropolitan area, the organization has commissionned a market study that has enabled it to focus its promotional efforts on 59 specific international companies who are planning to expand their logistocs and distribution operations in North America and are ready to consider Mirabel as a possible location.
Tourisme Montréal is working in cooperation with ADM for the development of the "leisure and tour travel" vocation of Mirabel airport and of the charter flight industry. Tourisme Montréal paid visits to all charter tour operators in the U.K. to urge them to avail themselves of the facilities at Mirabel, and this organization is now starting a similar awareness campaign in France and Italy.
It mut also be stressed that ADM, in addition to all its efforts for the development of charter tours and of logistics and distribution centres, has implemented several incentives, including free parking, to attract more passengers to Mirabel. Furthermore, the governments also share in the development activities at Mirabel with, among other projects, the International Trade Zone of Mirabel.
The GSDAM has said it is convinced that the Permanent Committee on Transportation has taken due note of the dynamic approach and of the openness to ensure the distribution of better information to the public, as well as the efforts made to be competitive, and the organizatuion wishes that the Committee would recommend to the Minister of Transportation to help ADM to implement its development plan by all possible means.
The Groupe de soutien au développement des aéroports de Montréal (GSDAM) is composed of the following organizations: the West Island of Montreal Chamber of Commerce, the Tourisme Montréal, the Chambre de commerce de l'Est de Montréal, the Association de la recherche industrielle du Québec, the Saint-Laurent Chamber of Commerce, the Conseil régional de développement de l'Île de Montréal, Montréal International, the Board of Trade of Metropolitan Montreal, the Regroupement d'employés de l'aviation civile de la région de Montréal, the Ville de Montréal, the Alliance des manufacturiers et exportateurs du Québec, the Conference of Suburban Mayors, the Chambre de Commerce de la Rive-Sud, the Chambre de commerce de Laval, the Comité permanent d'initiatives du Montréal métropolitain, and the the West Island Business Development Council.
The Board of Trade of Metropolitan Montreal has more than 7 000 members. Its mission is to be the leading group representing the interests of the Greater Montreal business community. The objectives are to maintain, at all times, relevance to its membership, credibility towards the public and influence towards government and decision-makers.
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