Toronto Mayor Olivia Chow wants the land from the city’s islands back.
The mayor said Monday the Ontario government should return lands it recently expropriated through new legislation, which was part a push from Premier Doug Ford to expand the Billy Bishop Toronto City Airport to allow jets to land and take off from it.
Her demands came after federal Transportation Minister Steven MacKinnon rejected Ford’s island airport expansion plan last week after receiving feedback through a public consultation.
“Return our waterfront to us,” Chow said Monday on social media.
The mayor said she and Coun. Ausma Malik filed an urgent motion to city council, demanding land in and around the island back. The motion is considered urgent because it is the last time city council will sit this term before the provincial legislature resumes in the fall, the document said.
Chow wants the province to repeal Bill 110, which became law in early June. That law gave the province the ability to take over the entirety of the Toronto Islands, though the province said it would only take what’s necessary despite the language in the legislation.
The province also booted the city from a long-standing tripartite agreement that governs Billy Bishop airport. Ontario took over the city’s spot in that agreement, joining the federal government and the Toronto Port Authority, an arm’s-length federal agency.
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Ford called his vision of an expanded airport a “crown jewel” and his government has been saying an expanded airport would add billions to the economy every year.
Port Authority CEO RJ Steenstra, who was bullish on the expansion, said at a committee hearing on the bill that the airport expansion would cost between $4 and $5 billion over 25 years, and would be paid for by passengers and airlines.
Steenstra said at that hearing that he had shared preliminary plans with the federal and provincial governments, but not the city, which he said was due to scheduling issues.
The airport’s passenger terminal is owned by Nieuport Aviation, which is controlled by J.P. Morgan Asset Management, a U.S.-based firm.
Chow said she has still not seen those plans.
“We have been demanding to see the plans, despite the Toronto Port Authority actively hiding them,” Chow said in her post Monday.
“We have researched the impacts on housing, the environment, congestion, and more. We have discovered who would benefit — like the Wall Street bankers at JP Morgan. Council has formally opposed the unacceptable overreach. We still do.”
On Friday, MacKinnon said the federal government is focused on safety upgrades currently taking place at the airport “at this stage.”
“We will not pursue any plans that infringe on treasured public spaces like Little Norway Park or Hanlan’s Point Beach, result in elevated noise, have significant environmental impacts or hinder Toronto’s ability to build much-needed housing,” he said in a statement.
At the time, Sarkaria said the province will continue to push for an expanded airport — a statement his office said still stands Monday.
“As this work continues, we look forward to seeing and anticipate a plan that ensures the project protects public spaces, including the Toronto Islands, addresses potential noise and environmental impacts, expands and improves Little Norway Park, supports new housing opportunities in the area, and delivers lasting benefits for local communities,” the minister said Friday.
Provincial opposition parties cheered the federal government’s decision and urged Ford to back down.
“Right now, Bill 110 is still law,” said NDP Leader Marit Stiles.
“Doug Ford has given himself the power to do whatever he wants with Little Norway Park and the Toronto Islands. It’s time to end this land grab, kill Bill 110, and return Toronto Island and Little Norway park back to Toronto.”
Provincial Liberal legislator Adil Shamji called Bill 110 a “terrible deal.”
“That legislation should be torn up,” he said. “This is yet another in a series of examples in which Doug Ford makes wild promises for pipe dreams and pet projects without ever doing his homework.”
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