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Toronto’s mayor filed urgent motion Monday to demand the province give back waterfront land after the federal government rejected a proposal for a jet expansion at Billy Bishop Airport.
In a post on social media platform X, Mayor Olivia Chow said she wants Little Norway Park and the Toronto Islands back in the control of the municipality.
“Council has formally opposed the unacceptable overreach. We still do,” she said. “Return our waterfront to us.”
CBC Toronto has reached out to Ontario Premier Doug Ford’s office as well as the Transportation Ministry for comment.
Chow’s motion, seconded by Deputy Mayor Ausma Malik, comes after federal Transport Minister Steven MacKinnon announced Friday the government would be “exclusively” focused on approved safety upgrades already underway at Billy Bishop, rather than on building the airport out to allow jets to land.
The conclusion was based on public consultations that garnered more than 87,000 responses with nearly 87 per cent of respondents opposed to changes, a spokesperson for MacKinnon said. But the minister left the door open for a potential change of course in future years, framing the decision as “at this stage,” instead of a final one.
Ford’s proposal to extend the airport’s runway 600 metres west — on top of the 150-metre runway end safety zones already in the offing — drew concern from environmental and community advocates over noise, traffic and pollution levels, as well as affordable housing and the Toronto waterfront itself.
More than 6,000 lawn signs were distributed across Toronto by advocacy groups NoJetsTO and Environmental Defence, with thousands of residents sending letters to their local Member of Parliament. On Sunday, the two groups hosted a celebration to commemorate the power of community.
Liberal MP Chi Nguyen (Spadina—Harbourfront) told CBC Radio’s Metro Morning her office heard from nearly 7500 residents, with almost 3,000 of them partaking in the public consultation process.
“We are all thinking about what happens in Ontario and Toronto in terms of being ready and resilient in terms of our economy, but we have to do this [by] thinking about what’s right for Toronto,” she added. “Toronto’s waterfront has to grow with our community and not at its expense.”
Province will continue ‘to work to advance the expansion’
Ontario Transportation Minister Prabmeet Sarkaria said in a post on X Friday night that the provincial government still has plans for the airport and looks forward to “continuing to work to advance the expansion.”
He said the plan would ensure the project addresses potential noise and environmental impacts, expands Little Norway Park, protects public spaces and supports new housing opportunities in the area.
Sarkaria is set to host a news conference in St. Thomas, Ont., Tuesday morning.
John Gradek, a faculty lecturer in aviation management and supply networks at McGill University, said he wasn’t surprised by the federal government’s decision.
“We’ve had enough opposition in the marketplace, whether it’s local citizens or whether it’s local MP’s and the media,” he told CBC Radio’s Metro Morning Monday. “There really wasn’t any data that was really available to us.”
In her post to social media, Chow said the city has been demanding to see the plans for the airport, but the Toronto Port Authority has actively tried to hide them. She added the city has researched the impacts on housing, congestion and the environment and found the project would most benefit Wall Street bankers at JP Morgan.
According to Gradek, Toronto’s Pearson International Airport is more than satisfactory for the city.
“There is no [dire] need to create more capacity,” he said, noting Billy Bishop plays a more niche role in serving the local market.
Despite this, the need might grow in the next generation, which may be why the federal government didn’t entirely close the door on the opportunity, Gradek said.
“But extending the runway by 2,000 meters and going into it and putting landfill into the lake is not the answer.”
