OTTAWA — A leading free-market think tank is calling on Ottawa to stop playing landlord to major airports, arguing that exorbitant land rental fees are driving up the cost of domestic air travel.

“Using airports as cash cows instead of treating them as critical infrastructure hurts families, workers, and patients who depend on reliable air service for treatment access,” says Samantha Dagres, the communications manager at the Montreal Economic Institute (MEI).

Canada’s airports are operated by private, non-profit organizations, known as airport authorities, but the land they sit on is owned by the federal government, which collects rent.

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Airports forked over a record $494.8 million in rental fees to Ottawa last year, with the ‘B

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