Ford says province will make Billy Bishop Airport 'special economic zone' as it eyes expansion to allow jets
CBC
Premier Doug Ford says his government plans to give Toronto's Billy Bishop Airport special designation that would allow the province to bypass municipal and provincial laws as it pushes to expand the runway downtown.
Ford said earlier this month his government plans to take over the City of Toronto's stake in the island airport in order to build infrastructure that would allow jets to fly in and out — despite concerns over noise and environmental impacts.
At a news conference at Billy Bishop Monday, he told reporters that his government would soon introduce legislation for the takeover, using a controversial new law known as Bill 5 to designate the airport the first "special economic zone" in Ontario.
The law, passed last year, lets cabinet exempt companies or projects from having to comply with any provincial law, provincial regulation or municipal bylaw.
Ford had previously said he intended to designate the Ring of Fire as one of those zones to push mining development in the mineral-rich region. It drew pushback from First Nations communities in the area, and Ford said this month the province is no longer looking to use Bill 5 there.
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 said the province was taking over the city-owned land because "lefties" on city council don't want to modernize or grow the airport.
"They don't want to create more jobs. They don't want to create economic development, they don't want to create a competitive environment and convenience for the people of Toronto," he said. “Our plan will help Billy Bishop Airport realize its full potential."
Ford said the city will be compensated for the value of the airport and for any lost annual revenue it brought in.
In a statement Monday, Mayor Olivia Chow said, “Unilateral action to grab city land without consulting Torontonians is not acceptable to people.”
Coun. Ausma Malik, who represents Spadina-Fort York where the airport is located, plans to introduce a motion at council this week to formally oppose “any unilateral expropriation of city land by the Government of Canada or Government of Ontario,” and request that Toronto residents and council be included in decisions that impact the use of the city’s waterfront.
Ford repeated arguments he's made this month that 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.
As he did when pushing to make the Ring of Fire a special economic zone, Ford framed the expansion plans at Billy Bishop as a way to grow Ontario’s economy in the face of imminent economic threats from the U.S.
NoJetsTO, a citizen-led coalition dedicated to preserving Toronto's mixed-use waterfront, released a statement Monday condemning Ford's plan and calling for it to be abandoned.
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