development
Stop the Province's Land Grab, Give Toronto Island and Parkland Back to Toronto
Mayor Chow moved an urgent motion demanding the province repeal Bill 110, return Little Norway Park and the Toronto Islands to the city, and restore Toronto's seat at the tripartite agreement governing Billy Bishop Airport. The motion came after the federal government announced it will not support the province's proposed expansion of the island airport, a victory after months of public opposition and city staff analysis on impacts to housing, transportation, environment and waterfront revitalization.
Who did what
- Mayor Olivia Chow movedMoved the urgent motion to demand the province repeal Bill 110 and return the city's land and tripartite agreement seat.
- Councillor Josh Matlow (Ward 12, Toronto-St. Paul's) movedMoved a separate motion (on PH 32.7) asking staff to further explore the publicly stated goals of the province's airport expansion and provide analysis on impacts.
- Councillor Stephen Holyday (Ward 2, Etobicoke Centre) movedMoved two motions asking staff to analyze the impact of the federal decision on the city, including impacts on housing, transportation, transit, noise and livability, and to study the same impacts related to Pearson Airport growth.
- Councillor Ausma Malik (Ward 10, Spadina-Fort York) secondedSeconded the mayor's motion.
From the floor
“The core issue we have is do we represent the public interest or do we represent private interests? The city of Toronto is blessed. We sit on Lake Ontario, which is part of the largest collection of fresh water in the world.”Councillor Gord Perks (Ward 4, Parkdale-High Park)
“This land belonged to the people of Toronto. And the province must also return Toronto to the tripartite agreement governing the airport so that the people who live here get a say once more in what happens to our waterfront.”Mayor Olivia Chow
“Over the past months, tens of thousands of residents, community leaders, people from all walks of life spoke out about what Toronto Waterfronts meant to them. They shared their concerns, organized their communities, told their stories, and made it clear that protecting our waterfront matters.”Mayor Olivia Chow
“We advocate for our communities. Because premier Ford was not making decisions based on publicly available plans, publicly available information where he was saying things but he couldn't support them, it was up to us to provide our communities and the public facts, information to make informed decisions about the future of our own waterfronts.”Councillor Josh Matlow (Ward 12, Toronto-St. Paul's)
“Every time a government makes a misstep, and a number have been here for the missteps, Torontonians will say, that's wrong. We don't support you and fix it. When a government gets blown off course, the public will fix it and put that amount of pressure on.”Councillor Paula Fletcher (Ward 14, Toronto-Danforth)
5 more people spoke
“There is nothing that the people living, working, wanting to visit, depending on tourism, could do about that. Is physics. So we have a situation where you've got a very small area where not much can be accommodated without things falling off the end, and there are enormous competing interests that are immensely important.”Councillor Dianne Saxe (Ward 11, University-Rosedale)
“Little Norway Park and Hamlin's Point are not bargaining chips, and Toronto's seat at the table that governs its own airport shouldn't be either. If you are not at the table, then you are on the menu. And that's what's happened to Toronto with this island airport debacle.”Councillor Brad Bradford (Ward 19, Beaches-East York)
“Torontonians have made themselves absolutely clear. This is our city and our waterfront. They have rejected secret expansion. They've rejected backroom deals and back of napkin schemes.”Councillor Ausma Malik (Ward 10, Spadina-Fort York)
“As the councilor noted, the supplementary report was based on staff's review of publicly available information. Committee asked us to reach out to Newport Aviation to invite them to provide any additional information or communication to council.”City of Toronto staff
“It is public land which we are not selling. It is public land that there have been plans over the years to put public amenities on. We do need recreation.”City of Toronto staff
Also in this item
• The federal government announced it will not support the province's proposed expansion of Billy Bishop Airport, reversing the province's stated intention to expand the airport to 10 million annual passengers.
• Infrastructure Investment Funds holds a majority interest in Newport Aviation (the airport operator), but not 100 percent, according to a brief email response from the company to city staff; JPMorgan is separate from this ownership.
• Bill 110 legislation retroactively prevents the city from leasing, licensing, or otherwise encumbering Toronto Island lands and Little Norway Park, even though the actual expropriation (vesting of title) has not yet been completed through regulations.
• City staff identified that significant changes to local transportation infrastructure would be required to accommodate 10 million annual passengers at Billy Bishop, and the Toronto Port Authority's own 2018 master plan stated that growth beyond 3.5 million passengers would put the objective of managed and balanced waterfront growth at risk.
The journey
What happens next
This item has already been voted on and decided. Residents can contact their provincial MPP to demand the province repeal Bill 110 and return the city's land, and can continue organizing community pressure ahead of the next provincial election.
Decision
Motion adopted. The vote was 25 to 1. Council voted to demand that the province repeal Bill 110 legislation, return all city land including Little Norway Park and the Toronto Islands (including Hanlan's Point Beach), and restore Toronto to the tripartite agreement governing the airport so residents have a say in future decisions.
On video
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