Ford says he’s going to take over Billy Bishop airport. What happens now?

Ontario Premier Doug Ford says the province will take over Billy Bishop airport from the city’s jurisdiction to allow bigger jets to land on the island, but experts say it could take years before any real changes come to the area.

At a news conference on Tuesday, Ford said he recently told Toronto Mayor Olivia Chow the province would expropriate the city-owned land of the island airport.

“I was very straightforward with her that we will be taking over the airport," he said.

Shane Rayman, a Toronto-based lawyer and former president of the Ontario Expropriation Association, said taking control of lands governed by another level of government by expropriation is usually a last resort. 

“If Ontario is serious about doing this, the process itself could take up to a year,” he said. 

Billy Bishop airport is currently governed by an agreement between the City of Toronto, Transport Canada, and Toronto Port Authority. The city owns about 20 per cent of the land where the airport sits, according to the city’s website.

Ford has said bringing jets to Billy Bishop would also bring jobs and economic benefits to the airport and surrounding region. The current agreement doesn’t outright ban larger jets, but the size of the runway and noise-reduction standards mean they don't fly in or out of Billy Bishop. 

If the City of Toronto objects to the takeover, the province could speed up the legal process using special powers and take control within six months, Rayman said. 

But, he said, once the expropriation process begins, it will be up to the courts to determine how much the province will need to pay out the city for the asset.

On Tuesday, Ford said the city will be compensated for the value of the airport and for any lost annual revenue it brought in.

Rayman said there's not much the city can do to stop the move, as it's ultimately under the province's jurisdiction.  

Even if the province takes control of the land, jets may not come to Billy Bishop for a while yet, according to John Gradek, an aviation management professor at McGill University. He said the airport would need to undergo significant changes depending on the planes it aims to accommodate. 

“You want to go transcontinental? You want to go international? Very different location and lots of infrastructure is going to be required,” said Gradek. 

Necessary changes could include adding more parking, bridges and rebuilding the terminal, he said, which would likely cost billions of dollars and take at least a couple of years to complete.