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Letter: Cowichan should support a local airport

The local small airport in Duncan will close in a few years
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Cowichan should support a local airport

If you took a poll amongst the residents of Merritt, Hope, Princeton, or Chilliwack about whether their communities should continue to support and maintain their community airports, it would be close to a 100 per cent “yes” vote. For the past week, those community airports have been the only connection with the outside world with many hundreds of people flown out, and many tons of urgently needed supplies flown in.

The local small airport in Duncan will close in a few years. Knowing this, the CVRD commissioned a report to examine if a new and more capable airport should be constructed in the Cowichan Valley. The conclusion was that from both an economic and a public safety perspective it would be very beneficial. But when various “NIMBY” groups and other short-sighted people raised a fuss, the politicians dove under their desks, and the report hasn’t been heard of since. Given the events of late, they might want to retrieve it and take a sober second look.

Kevin Maher

Cowichan Bay