PARLIAMENT MISLED: The Lie That Silenced a Community
- On June 19, 2024, former Transport Minister Pablo Rodriguez told Parliament that aircraft noise “falls beyond Transport Canada’s mandate and jurisdictional authority.”
- That statement is false on its face – contradicted by the Ground Lease, the Aeronautics Act, and ICAO Annex 16.
- MP Judy Sgro, former Minister Chrystia Freeland, current Minister Steven MacKinnon, Prime Minister Mark Carney, Opposition Leader Pierre Poilievre, the Speaker of the House, and members of the Standing Committee on Government Operations and Estimates (OGGO) were all given detailed evidence and asked to correct the record.
- None have corrected the lie. The misleading statement remains on the Parliamentary record.
- This page documents the statement, the legal proof it is false, and the chain of officials and institutions who chose not to fix it.
They claimed they were powerless. The law says they are liable.
On June 19, 2024, the Government of Canada officially washed its hands of the noise crisis at Toronto Pearson International Airport. In a formal response to Petition 441-02385, former Minister of Transport Pablo Rodriguez entered a statement into the Parliamentary record that was not just a deflection—it was a legal falsehood.
This page documents the lie, the evidence that proves it, and the coordinated refusal by Ministers, MPs, federal party leaders, and Parliamentary offices to correct the record.
| Person / Body | Role at the Time | What We Asked | Their Response |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pablo Rodriguez | Minister of Transport (June 2024) | Answer Petition 441-02385 truthfully and in line with Canadian law. | Stated that aircraft noise and mitigation were outside Transport Canada’s mandate – a statement contrary to statute, lease, and treaty obligations. |
| Judy Sgro | MP, Humber River—Black Creek | Raise the misleading statement in the House and protect Parliament from being misled. | Declined to act. Continued to deflect residents back to the GTAA. |
| Chrystia Freeland | Minister of Transport (August 2025) | Issue a written correction to the ministerial record and acknowledge Transport Canada’s jurisdiction over aircraft noise. | No response. |
| Steven MacKinnon | Minister of Transport (October 2025) | Correct the falsehood left by his predecessor and confirm that ministerial accountability attaches to the office, not the individual. | Silence. The false record still stands. |
| Standing Committee on Government Operations and Estimates (OGGO) | Parliamentary oversight committee | Review the evidence, examine the governance failures around Pearson, and call witnesses on the “no jurisdiction” claim. | No study launched. No public hearing convened on the misleading statement. |
| Opposition Critics | Transport Critics (Lantsman, Boulerice) | Raise a Question of Privilege regarding the misleading statement and demand a correction. | Request submitted; to date, the government’s “no jurisdiction” position remains uncorrected. |
| Mark Carney | Prime Minister of Canada | Notified directly that Parliament had been misled and asked to ensure the ministerial record was corrected. | No action taken. The false statement remains on the Parliamentary record. |
| Pierre Poilievre | Leader of the Official Opposition | Provided with the evidence package and asked to raise a Question of Privilege or otherwise require a correction of the record. | No response. No effort made to correct the falsehood. |
1. THE LIE
The Official Statement to the House of Commons
Minister Rodriguez stated, on the record:
The Consequence:
By declaring “no jurisdiction,” the Minister effectively privatized the airspace. He told Parliament they cannot hold him accountable. He told the thousands of residents suffering from sleep deprivation and health impacts that their federal government is legally powerless to help them.
2. THE SMOKING GUN
We have the receipts. The Minister’s claim is contradicted by Canadian law, international treaty, and Transport Canada’s own contracts.
A. THE GROUND LEASE: Transport Canada is the Landlord
Transport Canada isn’t a bystander; they own the airport. They signed the Ground Lease Agreement with the GTAA.
- The Obligation: The Lease requires the GTAA to “conduct its activities in a manner consistent with the principles of environmental responsibility” and to “maintain a meaningful process for consultation with affected communities.”
- The Power: Transport Canada has the power to issue default notices and even terminate the lease if the GTAA fails to mitigate noise or consult honestly.
- The Lie: If you have the power to evict the tenant for bad behaviour, you have jurisdiction.
B. THE LAW: The Aeronautics Act
- Section 4.9(1): The Act explicitly empowers the Minister to make regulations “respecting the protection of the environment, including noise levels” and “respecting noise abatement procedures.”
- The Reality: The power exists. The Minister simply refuses to use it.
C. THE TREATY: ICAO Annex 16
Canada is a signatory to the Convention on International Civil Aviation. Annex 16 mandates aircraft noise certification and abatement procedures. Transport Canada is the sole authority responsible for implementing these international standards in Canadian airspace.
D. THEIR OWN CONFESSION
“Transport Canada is responsible for establishing regulations and standards to control aircraft noise…”
Minister Rodriguez contradicted his own department’s public stance to avoid accountability in Parliament.
3. THE COVER-UP
When a Minister misleads Parliament, it is a breach of privilege. The record must be corrected. We gave them every opportunity to fix this. Instead, they chose silence.
The Timeline of Complicity
Date: August 10, 2025 | 7:35 PM
Target: MP Judy Sgro (Humber River—Black Creek)
The Request: We provided the legal rebuttal to MP Sgro and requested she ensure the matter was raised in the House so Parliament would not be misled.
The Result: “Declined to act.”
She continues to deflect residents back to the GTAA—the very corporation causing the harm.
Date: August 10, 2025 | 7:58 PM
Target: Hon. Chrystia Freeland (then Minister of Transport)
The Request: A formal request for a written correction to the ministerial record.
The Result: IGNORED. No response.
Date: October 2, 2025 | 9:17 PM
Target: Hon. Steven MacKinnon (current Minister of Transport)
The Request: We advised the new Minister that “ministerial accountability attaches to the office” and requested he rectify the falsehood left by his predecessor.
The Result: Silence. The false record stands.
Date: Late 2025
Target: Standing Committee on Government Operations and Estimates (OGGO)
The Request: We asked OGGO to examine the “no jurisdiction” claim as a governance and accountability failure, call witnesses, and require production of records.
The Result: No public study. No hearings convened on the misleading statement.
Date: October 10, 2025
Target: Opposition Critics (Lantsman, Boulerice)
The Request: We appealed to the Opposition to raise a Question of Privilege regarding this misleading statement.
To date, no Question of Privilege has been brought forward on this issue.
Beyond individual ministers and committee critics, the full evidence package – including lease excerpts, statutory authorities, and the detailed legal rebuttal – was also sent directly to Prime Minister Mark Carney and Opposition Leader Pierre Poilievre. Both were explicitly asked to act to correct the record and uphold the basic standard that the House of Commons must not be left with a known falsehood on its books.
No correction was issued. No privilege motion was brought. No committee study was launched. The false statement was allowed to stand.
4. THE IMPACT
Why They Want You to Believe the Lie
This isn’t just bureaucratic laziness; it is a calculated abdication of duty. By maintaining the lie that they have “no jurisdiction”, Transport Canada allows:
- The Erasure of Data: The Noise Exposure Forecast (NEF) maps have not been updated in over 25 years.
- The Suppression of Health Risks: Public health authorities rely on this falsified picture, leaving vulnerable populations (schools, hospitals, long-term care) without protection.
- The Shadow Government: Decisions are made by the private GTAA and NAV CANADA, while the elected officials who are supposed to oversee them claim they are powerless.
When Parliament is shown clear evidence that a ministerial statement is false and chooses to do nothing, it does more than ignore one community. It normalizes lying to the House. It sends a message to every future minister that misleading Parliament is a low-risk, low-cost strategy.
In that sense, leaving a known falsehood on the record is not neutral — it undermines democracy itself. A legislature that allows itself to be lied to, and then looks away, becomes fertile ground for the not-so-honest politician: it rewards those willing to bend the truth, punishes those who insist on accuracy, and quietly fertilizes corruption.
The “jurisdictional lie” is the shield they use to hide from you — to harm you without compensating you.
And every day that Parliament lets that lie stand, it does not just fail Pearson’s neighbours — it weakens the expectation that Canadians can trust what is said in their own House of Commons.
Download the Evidence
Pearson Accountability Alliance
Independent Environmental & Public Health Research for Toronto Pearson Communities.