Transportation Minister Prabmeet Sarkaria is vowing to “push forward” on the expansion of Billy Bishop airport and chastised the federal government for giving into a “fringe group” of Toronto residents who opposed the province’s plans.
Sarkaria said the province also has “no intention to repeal” legislation that allowed the province to expropriate lands from Toronto and replaced the city’s position in a tri-partite agreement that oversees the operations of the airport.
On Friday, the federal government shut down plans to expand the runway to accommodate jet aircraft and pointed to overwhelming negative feedback Ottawa received during public consultations.
“At this stage, I can confirm that our focus lies exclusively on the approved safety enhancements,” Federal Transportation Minister Steven MacKinnon said, adding that the federal government will not pursue any plans that “infringe on treasured public spaces.”
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The statement was hailed by the plan’s detractors as a significant victory and led to a city council motion spearheaded by Mayor Olivia Chow demanding that the Ford government return the island airport lands that were expropriated in the spring.
While the Ford government appears to have been blindsided by the federal government’s decision, Sarkaria said the province isn’t willing to back down.
“Disappointed with the statement that was released by the federal government on Friday,” Sarkaria said. “We’ve seen the federal government listen to a small fringe group in Toronto.”
“If Prime Minister Carney and his team want to… if this is how they’re going to treat bigger projects, I don’t think you’ll get much built.”
Sarkaria said it’s a project that “makes sense” and said they heard from healthcare CEOs in Northern Ontario about connectivity and from mayors in Eastern Ontario about how the expansion would support their regions’ transportation needs.
“As members of the tri-partite agreement, Premier Ford and our government will continue to work towards a plan that was published by the Toronto port authority that supports the modernization of Billy Bishop.”
At the same time, Sarkaria said it continues to “urge the federal government to continue to consider the proposal.”
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