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The real and serious consequences of climate change are impacting Canadian communities from coast to coast to coast. Acting now to address these realities is critical to keeping Canadian families safe, protecting local businesses and supporting a strong economy and middle class.
On May 23, Dan Vandal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Indigenous Services, on behalf of François-Philippe Champagne, Minister of Infrastructure and Communities, announced funding for a project to address the impacts of melting permafrost on the Thompson Regional Airport. The airport terminal’s foundation has been severely compromised in recent years with visible signs of sinkage.
The project involves building a new 45,000-square-foot air terminal west of the existing building to ensure the safe and reliable operation of the airport long term. The airport, which serves as a gateway to Canada’s North, is the third-busiest in Manitoba and provides hundreds of jobs in the community. The new facilities will increase the community’s resilience to climate change and contribute to continued economic diversification and growth by reducing the number of residents without essential services by 95 per cent, local economic loses by 71 per cent, and by saving more than $6 in long-term recovery and replacement cost for every $1 invested.
The new terminal will include three gates, security screening, groundside seating baggage carrousel, and 10 check-in counters. Also included in the project are the construction of new taxiways and airside aircraft parking for five aircraft; a new access road; a groundside parking lot with short- and long-term stalls; a water treatment plant; and other utilities.
The Government of Canada is contributing $28 million to this project through the Disaster Mitigation and Adaptation Fund.
“The real and serious consequences of climate change are impacting Canadian communities from coast to coast to coast.”
PLEASE! Blaming “climate change” for the very REAL need to update the old terminal? That makes NO sense. The old terminal is just that–OLD. It is outdated–counter space is inadequate–the security space is inadequate–the bathrooms are inadequate–blaming those faults on “climate change” is disingenuous and misleading.
These projects had to be done anyway–they have been apparent for years, but let’s not blame “climate change” for those issues.
Followup–see this map of Permafrost according to the Canadian government: http://ftp.geogratis.gc.ca/pub/nrcan_rncan/raster/atlas_5_ed/eng/environment/land/mcr4177.jpg
Thompson has a mean annual ground temperature between +2.2 degrees C and -.6 degrees.–technically, not widespread permafrost.
It is described as “scattered and sporadic” according to the chart legend.
For Thompson, it is considered “low–minus 10%”
Climate change, whether a product of nature, or the result of careless human consumption, is a fact. The ploy of politicizing this reality for other agendas, is counter-productive. The ground is thawing and action is being taken – that is the first real activity I have read about since the Al Gore train left the station. The govt got it right