OTTAWA—Ottawa has made no decisions on the sell-off of Canada’s big airports and the government continues to weigh its options, Finance Minister Bill Morneau says.

The federal Liberals have been looking at the potential sale of major airports, now run by not-for-profit airport authorities, to reap a windfall that could be directed to other spending priorities.

While the Liberals prepare to deliver their second budget on Wednesday, Morneau told the Star that the issue remains under consideration.

“When we think about assets the government owns, I think we need to make sure that they are contributing to our opportunities for growth. We haven’t come to any conclusions on airports,” Morneau said in an interview last week.

“I will continue to look at any asset the government has to make sure it’s helping us to grow the economy as best as possible. In the case of airports, we’ll look towards ensuring that we have a positive passenger experience and a good airport system,” he said.

Both the Conservatives and New Democrats pressed the government on the issue in question period Monday, but Prime Minister Justin Trudeau was noncommittal about what the upcoming budget might say about airport privatization.

“I am wondering if the prime minister could show Canadians exactly where in the Liberal election platform this was ever mentioned. Since he has no mandate to do so, will the prime minister guarantee that he will not privatize Canadian airports?” NDP Leader Thomas Mulcair said.

One study by the Vancouver Airport Authority estimated that the federal government could raise between $8.7 billion and $40.1 billion by selling off the country’s eight largest airports, including Toronto’s Pearson International.

But that possibility has sparked concerns in some aviation quarters.

Some fear that selling off airports to the highest bidders would mean higher fees for travellers.

Sen. Dennis Dawson, chair of the Senate committee on transport and communications, used a speech to a Quebec audience last week to speak out against the idea, painting it as a short-term fix to reduce deficits with little thought to the long-term consequences for passengers.

“It is understandable that the minister of finance is constantly seeking sources of funding to address deficits and pay for costly infrastructure programs,” Dawson said.

“Let’s hope that the entire government will be there to promote and defend the real interests of air travellers and Canadian taxpayers,” he said, according to a prepared text of his remarks.

Transport Minister Marc Garneau himself has been noncommittal when asked about the issue, saying only that his “No. 1 priority” is “service to passengers.”

“To put it bluntly, whatever we can do to lower costs, offer more choices and destinations, shorten security waiting, shorten customs waiting times, create a bill of rights — or we call it a rights regime for passengers so they have rights as well with respect to airlines — those are all things that are priorities for me,” he said earlier this month.

“Anything we consider with respect to airports or airlines will be with that focus in mind. So that’s the driver,” he said.

The budget may deliver relief for frustrated air travellers who have been stuck in security lines. It may do so in the form of a promise of service standards, such as those in place at other airports, to ensure the timely screening of passengers.

“It’s an ongoing project of ours. We have heard from Canadians, and Canadians would like the waiting time to be reduced, and it’s something that I’m certainly seized of,” he said.

Garneau said he’s aware of the example of European airports, notably London’s Heathrow, where 95 per cent of passengers are screened in five minutes.

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“There are certainly some European airports that have given themselves targets, and we’re looking at that and looking at technology and looking at ways in which we can improve or reduce the waiting times,” he said.

Garneau declined to say whether Ottawa would be prepared to boost funding to the Canadian Air Transport Security Authority, the agency responsible for airport screening, to make the improved service a reality.

“I’m not going to discuss financial issues. We’re looking at what it is that we can do to shorten the time, and, in due course, we’ll have things to say,” he said.

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