On May 4, Transport Minister Marc Garneau issued another Ministerial Order preventing the Saint-Roch-de-l’Achigan aerodrome from seeing the light of day. This was a second one after the first in August 2019, when the proponents presented their initial consultation results. The ex-Mascouche now St-Roch developers had heard the Minister’s comments the first time and had adjusted their actions to integrate them for a second iteration of the consultation report in December 2019. After months of deliberation, a sad justification was sent to the developers as for the reasons why the aerodrome could not see the light.

Among them were giving credibility to an illegitimate referendum by the opponents; discrediting COPA’s 2017 Economic Impact Study of General Aviation; how flight training units won’t necessarily solve the pilot shortage, thus new ones are not necessary and last but not least, over the years that people have lost Mascouche and have found temporary solutions, it means they don’t necessarily need Saint-Roch, regardless of time and money spent over the years.

Read COPA President Bernard Gervais’ letter to Minister Garneau in response to the Ministerial Order below.