Ontario to seize ownership of Toronto Island Airport lands and declare it is a special economic zone
The Ford government says the runway will be expanded over the next few years to allow for jets.
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,” Ford 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.
“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 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.
Area residents downtown have long fought the expansion of the island airport to allow for jets, arguing that it will create excessive noise and pollution.
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 say in this.”
