Ontario to seize ownership of Toronto Island Airport lands and declare it a special economic zone

Premier Doug Ford says the provincial government will be seizing ownership of city-owned lands at Toronto’s Billy Bishop Airport and declaring it a special economic zone, invoking new powers that will allow it to override environmental and other regulations.

The Ford government says the runway will be expanded over the next few years to allow for jets.

“Our government will soon introduce legislation to take over the City of Toronto’s role in the tripartite agreement that governs the airport’s operations, and we will move to take ownership of the city-owned lands in the airport in exchange for fair compensation,” the Premier said at a news conference at the airport Monday morning.

He said the move will allow the province to extend the runway to accommodate jet traffic at Billy Bishop Airport, upgrade the terminal building and improve access to Toronto’s waterfront.

Ford said the government will declare the airport a special economic zone in order to “streamline approvals while maintaining strong safety and environmental protections.”

The government introduced special economic zones last year as part of a suite of measures they said would help unlock the province’s economic potential. The declaration allows the province to bypass ordinary regulations in order to fast-track projects deemed important to the economy.

Plan would help Billy Bishop ’realize its full potential’: Ford

“Our plan will help Billy Bishop airport realize its full potential, it will reduce pressure at Pearson International, increase competition, and bring cheaper flights and options, more routes and more convenience to the millions of people from across Ontario who use this airport every year,” Ford said.

The province said the Toronto Port Authority estimates the Island airport’s activities will contribute up to $8.5 billion to Canada’s economy every year by 2050 and support up to 23,000 jobs in Ontario’s construction sector.

The government said earlier this month it planned to take over airport lands from the city, but did not mention the especial economic zone designation. If passed, it would mark their first use of the tool since its creation.

Area residents, however, have long fought the expansion of the island airport to allow for jets, arguing that it will create excessive noise and pollution.

The airport lands have been governed by a tripartite agreement between the city, the federal government, and the Toronto Port Authority, which is a federal agency.

Toronto Port Authority CEO RJ Steenstra said in a statement that the organization welcomes the province’s plans.

“We welcome the opportunity to work collaboratively with the province of Ontario to secure the future of the airport, which is a valuable asset for Toronto and the region,” he said.

Neighbourhood group concerned

NoJetsTO, a coalition of concerned citizens dedicated to preserving Toronto’s mixed-use waterfront, is calling on Province to abandon this plan and allow Torontonians to have their say on the airport, adding that it will “closely monitor the legality of proposed legislation to remove the City of Toronto from the Tripartite Agreement.”

“Ironically, the day after World Water Day, Premier Ford has stripped all of our environmental rights and protections from the island airport on our waterfront as he tries to ram jets down our throat,” the group’s chair, Norm Di Pasquale, said in a news release.

“It’s our Waterfront and we deserve to be consulted and have our environmental rights considered as part of any airport expansion discussion. Ford’s thoughtless decisions shut us all out of a debate that could have disastrous effects for our revitalized waterfront, which has returned billions to Ontario’s Economy and will house tens of thousands of Ontarians.”

Opposition parties at Queen’s Park slammed the government’s decision Monday.

Green Party Leader Mike Schreiner said it would benefit the wealthy instead of prioritizing housing.

“This is just another example where he’s going to support an airport for rich people over affordable housing for everyday Ontarians,” Schreiner said.

NDP Leader Marit Stiles said the move validates the concerns she previously expressed about special economic zones.

“This is an example of exactly what we feared the government would do; using those extra powers that they had given themselves to meddle once again, in areas that they have no jurisdiction over,” she said.

Calls for more consultation

In a statement, Mayor Olivia Chow said unilaterally grabbing city land without consulting Torontonians is ”not acceptable to people.”

“The Federal and Provincial governments must be transparent with the people of Toronto about their plans for the airport, and the impact it will have on how we enjoy our waterfront, downtown congestion, plans to build more housing and our film sector,” Chow said.

“If they are planning to expropriate even more City land at Bathurst and Queen’s Quay to make the airport expansion work, they must consult Torontonians.”

The mayor said she’d be seconding a motion at city hall this week for council to ask the federal and provincial governments to include the city on important decisions about the waterfront and calling in council to oppose any unilateral expropriation of city lands.

Tim Gray, executive director of Environmental Defence, said there are “a whole bunch of issues” arising out of the government’s plan.

“Expanding the runways are one. Obviously, there’s environmental impacts from that,” Gray said, speaking at a separate news conference at Queen’s Park.

“We’ve spent almost three decades re-engineering the Portlands, and we’re just at the point now we can start actually building community down there, and a lot of the higher buildings will be right in the flight path of future jets.

He added that “clearly, the people of Toronto should have a say in this.”

Local Coun. Ausma Malik echoed that sentiment.

“It’s our waterfront and we’ve worked hard to keep making it a vibrant and sustainable place to live, work, learn, visit, and enjoy,” the Spadina-Fort York rep wrote.

Malik said the plan ignores neighbourhood priorities such as housing, economic development, public realm, and transportation.

“Any significant decisions on the future of our waterfront, including the Island Airport, have to be done openly through a transparent process, as City Council agreed to do earlier this term as part of a Master Plan process,” she said.

“City Council also extended the airport’s mandate to comply with federal safety requirements. We cannot see this important safety work recklessly put at risk.”