News - Stephenville International Airport

Mayor, councillor have different views on airport support from government following meeting

Mayor Tom O’Brien is calling a videoconference meeting on Stephenville airport Thursday morning with Transportation and Works Minister Trevor Taylor and other government officials a positive step for the town’s airport.

But Coun. Laura Aylward has a totally different view, calling it a disappointment. At a council meeting later in the day, O’Brien said the morning meeting not only involved Taylor and officials of his department on Thursday morning but also area MHAs Joan Burke and Tony Cornect and Stephenville Airport Corporation board representatives.

“Now that the provincial government is into the business of helping out airports from a financial perspective they have asked us to put a plan together on what type of service our airport can provide and how we can achieve that,” said the mayor. “They are prepared and willing to look at the plan and see how they can assist us.”

O’Brien said he, along with Coun. Darren Roberts and Deputy Mayor Bob Byrnes, represented council at the meeting and they were pleased to hear the provincial government is prepared and willing to look at the plan put forward and see how they can assist the airport.

“They (government) recognize Stephenville airport has a role to play in the aviation industry as well as the asset it is to the area and southwest coast of the province. The onus is on us to have a comprehensive plan done in a timely fashion,” he said.

Aylward said she is really disappointed with the decision made this week by both the provincial and federal governments to give a total of $6 million to extend the runway at another airport about and hour and a half away in Deer Lake.

“They’re doing this when Stephenville has a runway recognized and designated by the International Civil Aviation Organization for its size both width and length — a runway that can handle the largest aircraft in the world, including a space shuttle,” she said. “This designation is only given to 13 other airports in Canada.”

Aylward feels it’s a waste of taxpayers’ money and called it a duplication of services. “Now that they (provincial government) has decided they are in the airport business we expect to be treated fairly and we shouldn’t have to worry about our airport anymore. That $350,000 line of credit they gave is a joke,” she said.

The stimulus package announced by the federal government is supposed to diversify the economy, however, what this announcement has done is put Stephenville airport in jeopardy and will cause job losses, according to Aylward.

Referring to an article from January of 2005 in The Western Star Aylward quoted a statement by Humber West MHA Tom Marshall as saying his personal opinion is that there’s not enough people for two airports… but at the same time, he wouldn’t deny the people of Stephenville anything.

“This conspiracy to shut down our airport has to stop. This ‘after the fact’ meeting had Trevor Taylor and Joan Burke in attendance but you couldn’t get God (Premier Danny Williams),” Aylward said.

Byrnes said at the meeting he talked about how the airport corporation just went through a process to try and get financing for fuel storage tanks at the airport, only to be turned down.

He asked whether they would be wasting their time in doing up a plan if the political will is not there for Stephenville airport. He said Taylor and Burke actually got upset with him for making such a suggestion, but stressed to get money the proposal would have to be put together.

O’Brien told Aylward that it is counterproductive to be bellyaching and they have to get their plan into place to move Stephenville airport forward.

“There’s no question that we have an opportunity we never had before and I choose not to bellyache,” he said.

“I’m not bellyaching,” Aylward shot back. “What I’m doing is speaking up for the people of Stephenville who elected me.”