Article content continued

Rapid population growth in the GTA has long suggested the need for a second major airport in the area. Transport Canada released a study in July 2011 concluding a new airport would need to be built as early as 2027 to accommodate traffic growth — including the eastward extension of Highway 407 — and the anticipated increase in demand for air travel.

Trish Krale, spokeswoman for Pearson airport, said up to 35 million passengers travelled through the airport last year, with up to 1,100 flights going in and out of the airport on a daily basis. “We’re looking at upwards of 50 million passengers in the next 10 to 20 years, but we are not currently concerned about capacity.”

Projections by the provincial government indicate the population of the GTA is expected to reach about 8.2 million residents by 2030, which could have an impact on the airport’s capacity.

In addition to the airport announcement, Parks Canada is being given 5,000 acres to put towards the Rouge National Urban Park.

Canada’s Environment Minister Peter Kent called the park a truly “Canadian first.” It will be 13 times the size of Stanley Park in Vancouver.

“This is about working together to create a national urban park while also protecting valuable green space,” said Ontario Minister of Transportation and Minister of Infrastructure, Glen Murray.

Minister Murray, however, seems to have been taken by surprise by the airport announcement. He took to Twitter to express his thoughts Tuesday evening. “Minister Flaherty with all due respect your government never briefed us or gave us a heads up on your Pickering airport announcement,” he wrote.