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 Welcome Message from Minister Garneau /  ICAO – Why it Matters to Airports

Just prior to the start of Session 4A, Angela Gittens, Director General of ACI World, had the pleasure of welcoming one of the conference’s most distinguished guests, Marc Garneau, the Canadian Minister of Transport. Minister Garneau began his career as a Naval Officer in the Canadian Forces, was the first Canadian in space in 1984, entered Parliament in 2008 and has been the Minister of Transport since November 2015.

At the podium, Minister Garneau highlighted the importance of the transportation industry, including airports, to the national economy and the policy priority it has become to the Government of Canada. Much like ACI’s mission of representing the interests of the world’s airports and the communities they serve, Garneau explained how "on the ground" feedback from airports, travelers, business communities and other stakeholders were responsible for shaping his vision and that of the Government.

Beginning the session as moderator, Gittens opened the panel, ICAO - Why it matters to airports, with a clear objective; to provide the audience with a better understanding of what the ICAO actually does, why it is important to airports and what should ACI and airport do to best ensure that ICAO meets their needs?

Gittens was joined by joined by Ambassador Jean-Benoit Leblanc from the Canadian permanent representation to ICAO; Ambassador Michael Lawson, from the US permanent representation to ICAO; and Mr. Bill Voss, who represents the US on the Air Navigation Commission.

The first panelist, Lawson, spoke about how the ICAO Council works from the point of view of the representative of countries. The second panelist, Leblanc, focused on the relationship between governments and ICAO. The third panelist, Voss, spoke about how the details are taken from experts around the world and how the ICAO internal machine works.

 

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