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Minister of Finance urged to move forward

Dec. 10, 2009, Ottawa – Canada airports applauded a key parliamentary recommendation, and urged the Minister of Finance to implement the program, which would allow travellers to buy duty free goods upon arrival into Canada – a program known as arrivals duty free.

"Arrivals duty free is a long-standing request of Canada's airports, and we encourage the Minister of Finance to adopt the standing committee's recommendation on this valuable program," said CAC President and CEO Jim Facette.

Arrivals Duty Free will allow Canadian airport duty free operators to grow their businesses and repatriate duty free sales currently lost to foreign duty free operators. "ADF would be good for Canada's airports, travellers and the Canadian economy," said Mr. Facette

Its sixth report to this parliament, 'Prosperous and Sustainable Future for Canada: Needed Federal Actions,' the House of Commons Standing Committee on Finance made the recommendation as part of its pre-budgetary consultations. Canada's airports now look to the Minister of Finance to adopt the recommendation as part of the federal budget to be introduced in the spring.

The Finance Committee also acknowledged several other requests Canada's airports community, most notably the development of foreign/free trade zones, a permanent solution for small airport funding and the elimination of airport rent.

The committee recommended that the government should develop and implement proactive policies to expand key sectors of the economy and to support targeted high value activities. Free/foreign trade, zones provide for the ability to add value and research and development in export oriented and tariff free environment.

The committee also drew attention to CAC members call for the elimination of airport rents, noting that Canada is one of a limited number of countries that charge such rents. The committee was informed that, with a number of shovel-ready small airport projects that have not received funding, the government should develop a permanent program to fund small National Airport System (NAS) and non-NAS airports.