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Good news seldom comes in a brown envelope but when a report by investment bank Credit Suisse on the prospect of selling off Canada’s largest airports landed on Bill Morneau’s desk, it must have been like a broke teenager finding a $100 bill in his jeans.

The federal government was obviously aware that it owned 22 airports across the country.

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But they don’t appear on Ottawa’s balance sheet and until recently nobody thought too much about how much they might be worth on the open market.

We don’t know what Credit Suisse thinks, but the C.D. Howe Institute has done its own valuation, released Tuesday. Author Steven Robins estimates the eight largest airports, accounting for 90 per cent of the potential equity value, could be sold off for between $7.2-$16.6 billion. Toronto Pearson alone could be worth up to $6 billion, according to the report.

The attraction for the government is that this is one area where it might be able to get away with selling off the family silver without invoking the wrath of voters. Canada’s airports are ranked among the best in the world for quality of infrastructure but among the worst for cost. If the Liberals could put enough fences around the sale, to ensure that private-sector owners didn’t milk travellers, they might be able to tap a new revenue stream right through to the next election.