Time for action on airport

It is with a mixture of amusement and amazement I read in the Lethbridge Herald the Province of Alberta has agreed to blow another $90,000 to fund an Airport Master Plan.

The amusement comes from the fact that this effort is yet another in a string of taxpayer-funded efforts by politicians over the years who yearn to be seen doing something without achieving anything. The amazement comes from the mention that the management framework, a.k.a. governance model, will be subject to this review.

For those who have not been following the history of the situation, which has been allowed to fester for decades, other studies have already long since identified the need for an Independent Airport Authority. Why do we feel the need to keep running in place instead of actually getting something done?

Southern Alberta should long ago have acquired a proper international airport capable of serving the needs of residents and businesses south of High River and between the B.C. and Saskatchewan borders. Instead we have a Sovietera facility with only a few vending machines and crumbling aircraft manoeuvring areas.

Let’s see what the next phase in this endless series of studies produces. Will we see the politicians fight their instincts by releasing control and thereby absolving themselves of blame for an ever-deteriorating situation? Or will we see them man-up and hand the reigns over to a proper regionally based authority with the participation of businesses, experts and stakeholders from across all of southern Alberta?

If history is any guide, this latest stop-gap is destined to be yet another expensive dust-collector intended to keep those in power cozy through one more election. Sad.

Dale Leier

Lethbridge