Family-owned airport seeks $1.6 million a year from province to avoid shutting doors for good
Dan Robson - Toronto Star
At the threat of being grounded for good, Buttonville Airport is asking the provincial government to inject some much-needed fuel into the sputtering York Region airstrip.
Yesterday, owner Derek Sifton announced "the eventual demise and close of Buttonville" ? unless this last-gasp attempt to secure funding comes through.
A $1.5 million capacity maintenance agreement with the Greater Toronto Airports Authority was cancelled in April, leaving the privately owned airline without a lifeline. A request for financial support from the federal government was rejected in July, Sifton said.
Buttonville Airport has operated on its site at 16th Ave. and Hwy. 404, in Markham, since 1964.
Yesterday, Sifton said the family-owned airport would move ahead with plans to have the land rezoned for development. However, he would like the airport to resume operating in a new location, most likely a plot of land in Pickering.
"My father purchased the land for next to nothing," said Sifton of the current site, looking back on a 46-year-old family business.
The land is now valued between $100 million and $150 million.
But, standing on the airstrip yesterday, Progressive Conservative MPP Peter Shurman (Thornhill) said it would take around $1.6 million annually for five to 10 years to keep Buttonville operating as it begins plans to relocate.
"This is the fastest-growing region in the country. It needs an air gateway," Shurman said.
"For us not to have (Buttonville) or something to replace it in York Region is more than a travesty. It's patently ridiculous."
Shurman, along with fellow Tory MPPs Frank Klees (Newmarket-Aurora) and Julia Munro (York-Simcoe) called on Transportation Minister Jim Bradley to find funding to keep the airport alive.
Klees called the matter an economic issue, citing a study that suggests Buttonville generates around $96 million annually for the local economy, and provides more than 300 jobs.
"You can't turn your back on that," said Klees. "At a time when our economy is suffering ... here's an opportunity for a mere $1.6 million to ensure that this hub of economic activity in the heart of the GTA is maintained."
Outside a provincial cabinet meeting yesterday, Bradley told the Star he is awaiting a response from his federal counterpart, John Baird, on Buttonville Airport.
"I know the federal minister is giving it consideration," he said. "This is a private airport, as you know. They will take whatever action they deem appropriate."
A separate statement from Bradley's office noted that the Ministry of Transportation "does not have any direct involvement in the operation of the privately owned Toronto Buttonville Municipal Airport."
Buttonville is among the 10 busiest airports in Canada, with around 170,000 departures and landings a year. It houses some 300 planes.
Toronto Police, York Regional Police and Ontario Provincial Police all use the private airport. Several media outlets also use the facility, and it is home to hundreds of leisure and corporate aircraft.