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Several Toronto NDP MPPs and advocates for Toronto’s waterfront are warning the public about what they describe as grave concerns around safety and health regarding the province’s planned takeover of Billy Bishop Airport and nearby lands.
“This is another real estate scam by the Doug Ford conservative government. And it needs to be stopped before he destroys our waterfront,” said Chris Glover, the NDP MPP for Spadina-Fort York, at a Tuesday news conference.
On April 23, the Ford government tabled legislation to seize the City of Toronto’s portion of the tripartite agreement that governs Billy Bishop. The legislation also lists many other areas that would be folded under Ontario’s control, including a third of Little Norway Park and a large swath of Toronto’s Islands.
Premier Ford said at the end of March that taking control of Billy Bishop is to expand the airport’s capacity so that larger jets can land, which would bring more “flight options, more routes and more convenience.”
Glover, flanked by fellow NDP MPPs Kristyn Wong-Tam and Alexa Gilmour, said at the news conference the airport expansion is simply a “really bad idea.”
With Billy Bishop being at the bottom of “a dead-end street” just off of Bathurst, a sizable increase in traffic to the airport would create untenable levels of congestion at the waterfront area and through the city, said Glover.
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Wong-Tam said the focus should be on shoring up Pearson Airport and supporting the decade-long expansion and renewal of the airport that should be completed by the early 2030s. That is what should support commercial activity and tourism — not the island, she said.
The MPPs said there are also concerns about air and noise pollution, as well as the exemptions that would be needed to allow jets to fly low on the city’s skyline and whether it is safe to increase air traffic around high rises.
In 2013, Toronto published a report that examined the possible health impacts of expanding Billy Bishop Airport. At the time, Porter was looking to expand the airport to allow jets.
The report, commissioned by Toronto Public Health, found the airport in its current form already contributes to health risks, including air quality and noise pollution.
It said that traffic conditions, along with an increased risk of traffic-related injuries and fatalities, would be expected to increase with the expansion.
But it found that the long-term presence of the airport overall creates the largest risks to population health in general, regardless of an expansion. It called for a reduction of current and future airport impacts.
The MPPs also referred to a 2015 report on the requirements needed for expansion, by consulting firm Oliver Wyman, to illustrate why an expansion is not feasible.
The Wyman report said Billy Bishop is “not physically capable of serving as a Pearson on the lake” and that Pearson airport already serves the role as a full-service airport and is easily accessible by the UP Express.
Since the province moved to take over the airport, Toronto Mayor Olivia Chow has been vocal in her opposition, calling the legislation a “unilateral action to grab city land.”
In a statement to Global News, a spokesperson from the premier’s office said the province is supporting the “long-term modernization and expansion of Billy Bishop Airport, which is a critical and underutilized part of Ontario’s transportation infrastructure.” It said if it were up to the NDP or Liberals, “nothing would get built.”
The spokesperson said that Pearson is “at capacity” and options are needed for the growing population. Ontario is looking forward to working with the Toronto Port Authority and the federal government on the project, they said.
At a press conference at the end of March, Prime Minister Mark Carney called the Billy Bishop expansion a “very interesting vision.” He has not commented on the plan since then.
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