Premier urges support for pilot-training facility

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This article was published 30/04/2018 (2896 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

OTTAWA — Manitoba Premier Brian Pallister is urging Portage la Prairie residents to rally behind an air force pilot-training facility amid rumours the military may move it to Saskatchewan.

“Business goes where it’s wanted. (We) better demonstrate we want the business,” Pallister said while in Ottawa on Friday.

Southport Airport and Commercial Properties was established as a non-profit when the military closed CFB Portage la Prairie in 1992. The Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF) kept a major piece of its flight training school in place as the chief tenant of the privately run airfield.

Military sources say RCAF is considering consolidating those activities to CFB Moose Jaw, which would mean a loss of 350 jobs in Portage la Prairie.

The Department of National Defence splits its pilot training between Manitoba and Saskatchewan, with the initial training in Southport and advanced training at Moose Jaw. Those who will fly fixed-wing aircraft or helicopters return to Southport for final training, while jet pilots stay at Moose Jaw.

The military has told Southport officials they’ll soon be seeking a single contractor for pilot training when current deals expire in five years. But it’s not known whether that means it would have to be done at one location. If that’s the case, it depends which base would make a stronger case.

“I think there’s a powerful argument for the two-location model and I think we need to make that argument, and forcefully,” said the premier, who hails from Portage.

Pallister told the Free Press he raised the issue with federal officials during his visit to Ottawa, including with Conservative Leader Andrew Scheer, whose office confirmed he is generally supportive of keeping the Southport facility.

Pallister said he expects to raise the issue with Defence Minister Harjit Sajjan. The two did not meet on his visit to Ottawa, which lasted Thursday until early Sunday.

“Options are still being analyzed,” Sajjan’s spokeswoman Byrne Furlong wrote in an email Sunday. “The number of locations required for future aircrew training has not yet been determined.”

The premier’s office requested a meeting with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, but the PMO couldn’t accommodate the timing of Pallister’s visit.

Pallister was unable to meet with Natural Resources Minister Jim Carr, but said he would reach out to him shortly.

Rumours of a pullout led to intense lobbying at a Southport charity gala last weekend. Among those at the April 21 dinner was the area’s MP Candice Bergen, as well as reeves, mayors, councillors and MLAs.

Pallister himself learned that Maj.-Gen. Christian Drouin, who is commander of air force operations, was married at the base.

“I was actually working on his spouse because I said, ‘We must keep flight training here, so you have that memory of being married here,’” the premier said, chuckling.

He argues the base has implications for Manitoba’s position in the defence and aerospace sectors. He recalls being part of the community mobilization that helped bring flight training to Portage after the base closure, and he believes residents need a similar push to keep it there.

“This is the issue that got me to believe in politics,” said the premier, who recalled speaking at rallies as a community activist and helping co-ordinate support from the chambers of commerce and elected officials at all three levels of government.

“It was monumental for that community, but for me, it just made me a believer in community activism.”

Pallister said he’s aware of meetings between federal and local officials. He believes vocal support can help influence those talks.

“There’s no doubt in my mind we have some allies.”

dylan.robertson@freepress.mb.ca