An allocution by Jim Durrell, Chairman of the Board

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Good afternoon, bonjour.

Welcome to the Annual Public Meeting of the Ottawa International Airport Authority.

I’m very pleased to be here, in what is my first official duty as the new Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Airport Authority.

I would like to thank my colleagues on the Board for their expression of confidence by electing me Chair.

I look forward to working with all of you as we continue to move the Authority’s efforts forward.

As a member of the Board for the past five years, I have watched the Airport Authority team develop skills and talents that are recognized among the best in the country.

I have participated in one of the most exciting construction project that the region has seen.

And, I have been a part of one of the most active and dedicated Board of Directors in the city.

I would like to thank Claude Bennett and Regis Trudel, who have gone before me as Chair.

They have both done an outstanding job of positioning the Airport Authority as an important contributor to the economic landscape of the region, and have served their Boards well in the past.

I look forward to continuing the good work that they did during their tenures.

On behalf of the rest of the Board, I would like to welcome the three new Members who joined the Board just last week:

Michel Belley was nominated by the Chambre de Commerce de Gatineau ;

Eric McSweeney is a Greater Ottawa Chamber of Commerce nominee; and,

Michael Skrobica was nominated by the Air Transport Association of Canada.

Paul Benoit et toute l'équipe de l’Administration aéroportuaire ont démontré un niveau élevé d'excellence au cours des sept dernières années, et j’aimerais exprimer ma reconnaissance envers chacun d'eux.

Ils ont démontré un engagement inébranlable et je n'ai aucun doute qu'ils continueront à le faire lorsque l’Aéroport international d’Ottawa pendra de l’ampleur dans les années à venir.

After what has been accomplished in the last seven years, I know the future will have many more exciting projects in store.

We will be exploring Phases II and III of the expansion project, and studying the capacity of such facilities as the parking structure.

We will be further streamlining the operations at the airport, and ensuring a safe and secure environment for our passengers.

We will be working hard to attract more airlines and destinations to Ottawa.

And we’ll continue to be a strong presence in the communities that we serve.

As I’m sure you are aware, this is a challenging time in the industry; we hope that the events of 2003 don’t repeat themselves, and while we’re cautiously optimistic about Air Canada ’s future, the truth is that nobody knows what will happen at this point.

We’ll await the outcome like many others will.

We know that other factors, over which we have no control, could affect our business.

So, we’ve got to be vigilant in our approach to both our finances and our operation.

We must continue to make every decision with thoughtful consideration.

And, we must make every day count in our effort to keep our costs low while improving the service we offer our clients and passengers.

We’ve got a lot of work to do, and we’re ready to go.

Thank you, merci.