BACKGROUND AND SALES PROGRAM –
11,000 ACRES OF MIRABEL AIRPORT LAND

Background

The construction of Mirabel Airport began in 1970 and initially, in 1969, required the expropriation of nearly 97,000 acres of land.

That extensive area was considered necessary, at the time, to allow for such things as ongoing airport development away from urban centres and to accommodate all aircraft, including supersonic types. Under the expropriation program, displaced landowners received their initial compensation in 1970 and further compensation several years later.

Mirabel Airport officially opened on October 4, 1975. Over the 1980s, major changes in the aviation world abruptly amended the initial forecasts regarding the land area required for the airport-related needs of the new facility. That is why, in 1985, a sales program for 80,000 acres of airport land was proposed by the Conservative government then in power, since the land was no longer considered necessary for the current or future operation of the airport. The sales process was accompanied by a program designed to step up local agricultural investments.

Under the land sales program, priority was initially given to displaced landowners who, following publication of notices in the newspapers, had to indicate they wished to buy back the property they had owned prior to the expropriation in 1969. Half of the landowners expressed their interest in doing so. The program resulted in the handover of 1,408 properties with a sale price of $37.4 million and a market value of $59.5 million.

After the 1985 sales program, the government retained ownership of 17,000 acres of land, including 11,000 acres of airport reserve that could be used for future facility development and the 6,000 acres of the airport’s immediate operating area. In 1989, the Government of Canada approved a long-term leasing program for the 11,000 acres, bolstered by a program to encourage resumption of farming.

In 1992, Transport Canada, through a 60-year lease, turned over to Aéroports de Montréal (ADM) responsibility for the operation, management and development of Dorval Airport (now Pierre Elliott Trudeau) and Mirabel airports. At the same time, the Department transferred to ADM the agricultural and residential leases stemming from the long-term leasing program.

In 2002, an ADM business decision was made to move chartered passenger flights from Mirabel Airport to Montreal-Trudeau, thus concentrating all commercial passenger flights in Dorval. Since that time, Mirabel has focussed on air cargo, industrial development and general and private aviation. Announcement of the sales program for the 11,000 acres does not entail any change to Mirabel’s current functions, and Mirabel Airport is still operating.

Sales Program Announced Today

The sales program being announced today responds specifically to the wishes expressed by farmers to be able to purchase the land they are currently leasing. Terms and conditions for the sales program will be recommended to the Minister by a transition committee made up of various issue stakeholders and chaired by Mr. Daniel Picotte, a lawyer with a thorough knowledge of Mirabel lands and other issues related to the airport’s transactions and acquisition. The committee will commence its proceedings in the next few weeks with a view to launching the sales program, likely in the summer of 2007. The government will ensure that the transition committee carries out its terms of reference with clarity and fairness.

December 2006