Rota details airport funding requests

Nipissing-Timiskaming MP Anthony Rota says there have been 3 attempts to garner funding for rehabilitation work at the Jack Garland Airport but unfortunately they haven’t been successful.

He says the requests have been rejected for a variety of reasons and the city has had to use gas tax money instead.

He says one of the requests was under the Airports Capital Assistance Program or ACAP.

“It hasn’t been increased much lately. There has to more money to be put into that. For the runway to be funded it would have to come from that fund. They were concentrating on the bigger runways,” he says.

He says keep in mind the federal gas tax money is up this year to $3.12 million which is double the usual amount the city gets.

Rota says there was also a request for Fednor Funding but that was rejected.

“With Fednor we tried a different angle and it didn’t qualify. We are certainly trying and we’re looking looking for different angles and trying to make them work. If you don’t try it’s going to be no. But if you try you might be successful,” Rota says.

The other request came under the National Corridors Program.

(file photo taken by station staff)