Executive committee votes to move ahead with island airport expansion talks

City council’s executive committee has voted 11-1 in favour of moving ahead with talks on the proposed expansion of Toronto’s island airport.

The vote came late Tuesday night following a lengthy meeting at city hall. The debate will now head to city council next week.

Almost 200 people signed up to give their opinion on Porter Airlines’ request to extend the runway by 200 metres at each end and use passenger jets at the waterfront airport.

The deputations were cut off at around 7 p.m. with dozens still waiting for their allotted three minutes to speak.

The 13-member executive committee spent the day discussing a staff report that seeks to allow the city to enter into negotiations with the Toronto Port Authority and Transport Canada.

Tuesday's meeting could lead to a showdown at city council’s April 1 meeting. City staff are recommending council delay a final decision on the proposal until 2015 to allow for further study and planning and regulatory approvals.

Jet-powered aircraft are currently banned at the island airport, which is governed by a Tripartite Agreement signed in 1983 by the city, Toronto Port Authority (TPA) and Transport Canada.

All three sides must agree to amend the agreement to allow the runway extension and the use of Bombardier CS100 jets that would make way for Porter to expand its network to farther destinations in North America.

If council agrees to proceed with the negotiations, a long and complicated process would begin with city staff presenting conditions that must be met over three phases before they will even consider giving a recommendation on amending the agreement.

Those conditions include limits on passenger volume and flight slots in an effort to manage the airport’s growth. The caps are based on forecasted passenger volumes and local road capacity.

Staff also want assurances from the Toronto Port Authority and Transport Canada that concerns about noise, road traffic, flight paths, chemical and fuel management and curfew hours will be resolved.

In the second phase, the city would update its own policies and ask the TPA to work with Transport Canada to draft a new master plan for the airport and complete an environmental assessment and a detailed runway design that confirms the position of the marine exclusion zone (MEZ), which keeps watercraft away from the airport.

One of the staff report’s requirements is an MEZ that is not “materially” altered by the design and operating procedures of an expanded airport.

Those studies will take the rest of the year to complete and staff aren't expecting to report back to council until sometime in 2015. The report also points out that certification of the Bombardier CS100 is not expected until next year.

If the talks reach the third phase, the city would explore costs associated with the project and the parties would integrate the proposed island airport expansion with existing plans for development along the waterfront, including a new light rail transit line.

Staff would then report to council with a summary of the negotiations and further recommendations.

Porter currently uses Bombardier Q400 turboprop aircraft. Other airlines have expressed interest in using the airport if the runway extension and jets are OK'd.

Tuesday’s meeting was called by Deputy Mayor Norm Kelly, the committee’s chair, who supports Porter’s plan for Billy Bishop Toronto City Airport.

Kelly wants council to vote on the plan before a new council is elected in October.

On his way to the meeting, Mayor Rob Ford repeated his support for the plan.

Ford claims Porter’s expansion would stimulate Toronto’s economy and create jobs.

“We should get on with it,” Ford, an executive committee member, told reporters. “Councillors should use their common sense and just approve it. Let’s move on with it.”

Opponents, Porter squabble over claims

Opponents, including a group called No Jets T.O., claim there are health risks and safety hazards that outweigh the economic benefits. No Jets T.O. has made claims about air, noise and water pollution, jet blasts, bird strikes, fuel spills and emergency landings. The group also claims the expansion would jeopardize development along the waterfront, hurt property values and increase gridlock.

A report prepared by Transport Action Ontario, another volunteer group opposed to the plan, claims the expansion would lead to wider restrictions for watercraft in the harbour.

In an interview with CP24, Porter president and CEO Robert Deluce said there is a lot of "bad information" out there and he expressed confidence that all of the concerns will be addressed.

Deluce said the flight path for jets would be the same as the flight path for the turboprop planes, and the marine exclusive zone buoys would stay “pretty much where they are” if jets are allowed.

Deluce slammed the Transport Action Ontario report and questioned the professional credentials of its members.

“That was amateur hour at its best,” Deluce said of the report.

Mayoral candidates weigh in

Porter’s proposal has become a hotly-contested item at city hall and a significant point of debate in this year’s municipal election.

In a written statement, mayoral candidate John Tory called on the executive committee to defer its debate because there are “dozens” of unanswered issues.

He said it is too soon to make a decision.

“Until there are answers to those questions, a fact based decision on the future of the airport will not be possible,” Tory said. “Mayor Ford and NDP candidate (Olivia) Chow will fall back to their ideological positions of ‘yes’ or ‘no.’ But the fact is council cannot proceed with a decision until the critical questions highlighted in the report are answered.”

Chow wants the city to say no to Porter.

“We should leave it as it is,” the former NDP MP said in a written statement. “Taxpayers shouldn’t spend $100 million on expanding a runway at the island airport to allow jets. There are more important priorities and we have to live within our means. And next year, above ground rail will link us with Pearson Airport, making travel faster and easier.”

The Toronto Region Board of Trade again spoke out in favour of Porter’s plan Tuesday, saying its support is based on two conditions: that the jets receive noise certification from Transport Canada and conform to existing noise limits, and that the TPA and city agree on a funded plan to address congestion issues.

A new Nanos Research poll conducted on behalf of Porter Airlines suggests 65 per cent of Torontonians support or somewhat support the proposal to use jets as long as they do not exceed existing noise limits.

The poll also suggests 59 per cent support or somewhat support extending the runway as long as it does not impact boaters.

Nanos said the random telephone survey of 501 Torontonians was conducted Saturday and Sunday. The margin for error is 4.4 percentage points, 19 times out of 20.

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