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Originally published on August 16, 2026 in issue 19 of Forward Weekly
Back in April, Mark Carney’s government introduced Bill C-30, a sprawling implementation bill for its spring economic update with one quietly consequential section on airports. It gives the transport minister broader powers to obtain information about airport valuations as part of a federal review that explicitly includes the possibility of privatization. It’s one more small but telling piece of Carney’s decidedly market-friendly agenda (“AI for All,” anyone?), and it has attracted surprisingly little attention.
But not from Paul Blinov. The comedian and journalist did what the bill promised. He evaluated “options for the privatization of airports” and the result was “Pearson International House of Pancakes International Airport,” a truly ghastly travel experience reimagined for maximum shareholder pleasure. Welcome to the friendly skies of public-private partnership!
Paul Blinov has written for the National Post and the Canadian Medical Association Journal and served as the arts editor of the now defunct alt-weekly Vue Weekly. He also performs and teaches comedy, primarily with Edmonton’s improv group Rapid Fire Theatre, and was nominated for a Canadian Comedy Award as part of the sketch duo Gossamer Obsessions.
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