Canadian Town Has Second Thoughts About Selling Its Airport

More than a decade after Guelph pulled out of partial ownership of the Waterloo regional airport, views on that decision remain mixed.

City council decided in 1995 to sell its 20 per cent stake in the Breslau airport. Since then, the airport has become a busy transportation hub that expects at least 40,000 passengers this year.

Last week, WestJet announced it will begin daily local flights to Calgary in May, operating only for the summer.

Guelph council's 1995 decision to get rid of its partial ownership was a "huge mistake," said Guelph pilot Brent Hoff, a University of Guelph scientist who got his private pilot's licence 40 years ago at the Breslau airport.

For Hoff, the proof is in Guelph's limited business base, which hasn't kept pace with the city's residential growth.

"Every city that has a good commercial base has access to an airport and Guelph doesn't," Hoff said yesterday. "That's what Guelph needs now."

Had Guelph retained its stake in the airport, it could have enticed business travellers here and made efforts to attract regular passenger service from a major carrier such as Air Canada, Hoff said.

John Carere, who was a city councillor in 1995, thought pulling out was a bad decision and still thinks so today.

"It was a dumb, dumb play," said Carere, who sat on the airport commission back then.

"I thought it was very short-sighted on the part of Guelph city council. They just abandoned it," he said.

"I tried my darndest to stop it from happening."

Retaining partial ownership, regardless of the costs, would have given the airport a greater Guelph focus, drawing business here just as it serves businesses in Waterloo Region today, he said.

And he thinks Guelph created bad blood with neighbouring cities that don't see it as a partner in regional development.

But others aren't sure Guelph erred in pulling out of the Breslau airport.

They say there was little benefit in Guelph paying $105,000 a year in deficit subsidies.

The airport's expansion since 1995 has seen that deficit soar to $3.5 million, which would hand Guelph a $700,000 annual cost today.

"With hindsight, it looks like that might have been a wise decision," said Mayor Karen Farbridge, who was divided on the issue as a councillor when the city pulled out of airport ownership, but doesn't remember how she voted.

Still, there are no plans for her council to revisit that decision today, she said.

In 1995, Guelph council was focused on fiscal prudence, said Joe Young, who was mayor at that time.

"You could call it penny-pinching," Young said.

"I was sort of neutral. You could argue it several ways."

Council concluded Guelph would still have access to the airport whether it was partially city-owned or not, he said. Guelph residents just wouldn't have a say in its operation and planning.

Guelph and Waterloo Region are so different -- Guelph with its focus on biotechnology, and Waterloo on high tech they have limited opportunities for co-operation, said Sue Trerise, Guelph's municipal senior business development specialist in tourism.

Moreover, Guelph is focused on transportation links with Toronto and Hamilton and the Highway 401 tourism corridor.

"I can't say we actually get much business from the Kitchener-Waterloo airport in terms of tourism impact," she said.

The Waterloo regional airport has had a growth spurt since Guelph pulled out.

It's anticipating more than 40,000 passengers this year, up from roughly 10,000 a decade ago, airport development manager Jeff Schelling said.

In addition to tourists, it serves a business community from basic manufacturing to Waterloo Region's renowned high-tech companies.

"They need access to convenient air service," Schelling said.

"It really contributes to the overall infrastructure."

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