Dear Mr. Mayor Boddy, Members of Council, and Residents of Owen Sound:

I am writing this letter as a former resident and forever Owen Sounder to express my concerns for the future of the Owen Sound Billy Bishop Memorial Airport (CYOS).

I was born and raised in Owen Sound, but one of my fondest childhood memories was watching airplanes takeoff and land at Pearson Airport in Toronto with my Granddad. For my tenth birthday, my Dad got me an introductory flight of Owen Sound Airport. This was my first flight, but it fueled a passion that continues to this day. When I was fourteen, I joined the 167 Air Marshall Bishop V.C. Royal Canadian Air Cadet Squadron. I remember one of my first familiarization flights out of CYOS when I was handed the controls to do some circles over the Santa Claus Parade. When I was seventeen, I earned my private pilot’s license through the Air Cadets’ scholarship program, and one of my first flights after earnings my wings was to fly home from Kitchener and meet my parents on the tarmac in Owen Sound. I know how excited I was, but I can’t imagine how proud my parents must have been. All of these memories are forever tied to the Owen Sound Airport.

I currently reside in Waterloo Region and work as an Aviation Consultant. In my professional career I have managed multiple corporate flights departments whose clients included Bruce Power; I have been advisor to provincial governments and consulted on airports that serve remote and isolated communities across Canada, as well as air ambulance operations; and I have worked with numerous municipally operated airports in almost every Province. All this because of a passion for aviation that was sparked in Owen Sound.

I’ve been following the goings-on at Wiarton Airport for many years, and more recently Owen Sound’s Airport. While I recognize taxpayers’ liability for the airport and the unwillingness of some to pay for it, I also want to share my own perspective: airports rarely, if ever, break even. Particularly in small municipalities, airports are critical infrastructure to be supported through investment rather than squeezed as a source of revenue.

Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, the global aviation industry was facing a shortage of skilled labour: pilots, aircraft maintenance engineers, and air traffic controllers. While the global downturn slowed the crunch, we are already starting to see increased consumer demand and a shortage of personnel. The aviation industry is again grappling with this issue. There are plenty of opportunities for Owen Sound to invest and grow their airport, rather than close it forever.

Rather than closing the airport to save taxpayers a few dollars a month and accepting the loss of service that comes with that, Owen Sound should explore funding opportunities and grow the tax base to invest in vital infrastructure.

The high cost of running the City spread across a relatively small population is something Owen Sound has struggled with my entire life. As someone who grew up in Owen Sound and left to pursue a career and raise a family, the irony is not lost on me. I’ve often considered moving back if there was an opportunity, but there hasn’t been much. It is interesting to see how successful the recent “Work from Home Capital of Canada” campaign has been. Demand for homes in Owen Sound increased, and housing prices soared. While this causes growing pains for many, it also pushes property taxes higher and adds to City coffers in the long-run. These are difficult decisions for politicians but should be strategies considered by staffers.

It is also true that when the Federal and Provincial governments handed responsibility for airports to municipalities, there was little or no funding that went with it. Airport operators across the country struggle with this issue. There are countless industry associations and professional organizations lobbying all levels of government for increased funding, with significant results of late. Airports were hit particularly hard by travel restrictions introduced to curb the COVID-19 pandemic, and funds are being made available to support their recovery. There’s significant pressure to make these supports permanent to make up for decades of underfunding. Now is the time to lobby upper-tier governments for funding, not shutter airports.

Selling the airport to a private buyer and asking them to operate a facility that loses money every year is simply unrealistic. It’s also an irreversible decision; once the airport is gone, the City will never have the means or the will to build a new airport from scratch. The same could be said for Georgian Bluffs and the Wiarton Airport. Right now, working in isolation, the region is at risk of losing both airports. It surprises me that there isn’t more discussion about a regional plan to operate and maintain one airport to serve a wider population.

The current approach seems ill-conceived, uninformed, and rushed. It risks a very tragic result. The residents of Owen Sound, as well as the residents of broader Grey and Bruce Counties deserve better and should demand more from their representatives. Owen Sound Council would be wise to do their due diligence and invest for the future, rather than hammering one more nail in the City’s coffin.

Sincerely,

Stephen Jordan