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Tuesday, May 24, 2011

Airport Funding And Deer To Come Up At Common Council

Deputy Mayor Stephen Chase will ask Common Council tonight to invite the President of the Saint John Airport to speak on why the airport hasn't received federal funding.

Airport President and C-E-O Bernie LeBlanc tells CHSJ News the airport can't receive federal funding unless it's part of a specific program because of its location on federal land.

He says it's hard for the airport to generate enough income to pay for upgrades because the airport has less than half a million passengers a year.

LeBlanc says the Saint John Airport is lucky because it is not in immediate need of funding but will need to come up with 20 million dollars in 2018 when the runways are due to be resurfaced.

When he was running as a Liberal candidate in the recent federal election, Chase warned Saint John could find itself without an airport a few years down the road if there was no federal infusion of cash.

Also tonight, Councillor Bill Farren will be pressing for the city to adopt a bylaw to stop people from feeding deer in the city.