I’m back from covering the biggest event in town – Prime Minister Mark Carney’s global investment summit, not the Toronto International Film Festival, though your mileage may vary – and I’ve got a few competition-oriented takeaways.
I usually prefer to let others share their thoughts on news events like these, but I was up before the crack of dawn to get there and had dogs sniff my stuff for explosives, so I feel we can break with tradition just this once.
Airport privatization: This is perhaps the announcement that is getting the most attention, and deservedly so since it is the most controversial.
In his keynote address this morning, Carney said his government “will seek private investment through long-term concessions to operate Canada’s four largest airports,” which would be Toronto’s Pearson, Vancouver, Montreal-Trudeau and Calgary:
“Following best practice in other countries, the Government of Canada will retain ownership of the underlying land and assets, but we will unlock their true value, by bringing in new capital and expertise into their operations and growth.
“We will reinvest the tens of billions of dollars of capital we raise into the infrastructure that Canada needs for the next generation. That will mean investing in regional airports and providing better and more affordable regional and remote air connections. It will mean a better passenger experience…
“Canadian pension funds already invest successfully in many airports around the world. It is time to bring that same expertise home to more directly benefit all Canadians.”
During the “fireside chat” that followed his speech, Carney emphasized that these concessions are different from privatization. In a nutshell, concessions are management contracts that don’t confer ownership.
