LILLEY: Toronto’s Island airport in jeopardy unless Chow steps in

Toronto's socialist mayor has history of opposing the Island airport's existence.

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Published Sep 23, 2024  •  3 minute read

Toronto City Centre Airport. Photo by Ernest Doroszuk /Toronto Sun

Toronto’s Island airport may be worth billions of dollars annually to the city’s economy, but that doesn’t mean some members of the city’s administration want it to continue. Recently, city staff mused in an official report about how the land the airport sits on could be returned to parkland.

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While some at City Hall described that revelation as “fake news,” it was actually in a city report on the future of the Toronto Islands.

Now, a city meeting is about to happen where residents will be asked about their view of the Island airport going forward. As it currently stands, this meeting is set to be filled with opponents — including people who oppose it on an ideological basis — to the ongoing existence of the airport.

The city’s own survey isn’t overly optimistic about the Island’s future based on the questions being asked.

“What do you see as the top 1-2 factors for the City to consider when reviewing the Runway End Safety Area (RESA) options? Why? Potential factors could include: waterfront revitalization, environmental impact, timing, cost, other?” states the one question.

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That appears to be an attempt to have residents give an answer that doesn’t include the Island airport being part of the city’s future.

“In the coming months, the City of Toronto will be engaging with Ports Toronto as it updates its plans for how the island airport will operate and function in the future,” the second question states.
“What kind of issues do you think should be considered during this discussion? What is your overall vision of Toronto’s waterfront?”

The city is asking these questions because the federal government requires all federal airports to have Runway End Safety Areas.

While some welcome the city’s expansion of the airport, others, including those close to the mayor, oppose the very existence of Billy Bishop Airport. In fact, Mayor Olivia Chow has also been opposed to the airport’s existence, never mind expansion, for years.

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This opposition goes back to her time as the NDP MP for Spadina-Fort York and her time as a councillor. Her opposition to the existence of Billy Bishop was so well known that when I was based in Ottawa, I used to take delight in telling her that I had just come off a flight from the Island airport.

Some people still clearly believe that Chow opposes the existence of the airport and are counting on her support to stop the safety improvements to the airport.

“Olivia Chow was concerned that she may not have the votes to prevent that on a council meeting on Oct. 9,” said Ed Hore, of Waterfront For All, a group that opposes the airport’s ongoing existence and expansion.

Hore used a community meeting in Spadina-Fort York last week to call on people to come out to a meeting on Tuesday night to oppose the airport being allowed to continue. Hore clearly believes that Chow is on his side and wants the airport to cease operations.

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Given Chow’s past statements and positions, that’s not an unreasonable assumption.

“Oh, come on. Give me a break. I’m not trying to shut down the airport. We’re trying to make the runway safe as quickly as possible,” Chow said in an email to The Toronto Sun.

That might be news to those in the industry who feel like Chow has been dragging her feet at best on the airport changes. It was just two months ago that a city report, the official plan for the Toronto Islands, mused about turning the airport land back into parkland.

Anyone watching these proceedings would be rightly skeptical of Chow and would be wise not to believe her, or those around her, until votes are cast supporting the future of the airport.

Her history says one thing, her words say another — and to be blunt, they do no connect.

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