Dennis Hanagan –
A city planning report this month is expected to address the impact that jets at Billy Bishop Airport could have on the new Ookwemin Minising community at the mouth of the Don River.
Premier Doug Ford wants jets at the airport and says in a news release that expanding it would relieve pressure at Toronto Pearson Airport, contribute up to $8.5 billion to Canada’s annual gross domestic product by 2050, support 23,000 construction jobs and serve 10 million passengers annually. It’s not been finalized how many more flights would be needed to accommodate the passenger increase.
At the May 7 Planning and Housing Committee, Ward 12 (Toronto-St. Paul’s) Councillor Josh Matlow wanted to know if the extended flight paths of jets at the island airport would limit building heights at Ookwemin Minising. Matlow said the company that runs Canada’s civil aviation system, Nav Canada, will say flight paths for Billy Bishop have to change if jets are introduced “and we know it will have an impact on the height of these buildings and the number of units that can be provided.”
The city envisioned Ookwemin Minising as providing 12,000 units for 21,000 people with building heights up to 41 storeys. About 10,000 units would be on public lands, which 30 per cent would be affordable rental housing. Phase 1 was expected to encompass five blocks with 20 buildings – five between 25 and 41 storeys, nine between 18 and 22 storeys and six at 12 storeys.
Chief city planner Jason Thorne replied that as of May 7, city planners had not seen any specific plans from the premier about Billy Bishop jets and their flight paths.
Matlow said he was “very concerned about how decades of work…has finally arrived at this point where we’re ready to launch a new neighbourhood and these plans could be shattered…if all of a sudden a unilateral edict from above at Queen’s Park just dismantles all these years of good planning.”
MPP Peter Tabuns, whose Toronto-Danforth riding includes Ookwemin, told the bridge in an email that Ford has not presented “any real evidence” to build an economic case for jets at the airport and hasn’t done any community consultation. “This is an irresponsible, reckless and lazy approach,” Tabuns said.
He said the premier’s “obsession” with Toronto is distracting him from what matters most: hallway healthcare, northern Ontario highways and education. “These are where his priorities should be,” Tabuns said.
Ford plans to use Bill 5 to designate the airport a “special economic zone,” a measure Tabuns said gives the premier “the power to break any law in order to ram his plans through.” Bill 5 waives environmental assessments, “meaning we won’t know the impact of this expansion until it’s too late.”
Tabuns also worried what the province’s takeover of the airport could mean for other areas of Toronto Island, a unique city park. “These are public lands, not Ford’s playground,” Tabuns said. A Canadian Press report in a May 2026 edition of WINGS Magazine, a business-to-business publication focused on aviation, says the province won’t take over the entirety of Toronto Island “despite the language in its proposed legislation,” namely Bill 110, Building Billy Bishop Airport Act 2026.
An April 2026 Ontario government press release said, “any decisions on land requirements will be informed by the due diligence process, in collaboration with our partners.”
Tabuns said Torontonians have told Prime Minister Mark Carney they don’t want “this senseless plan.” The premier should listen to that message “and keep his hands off of Billy Bishop, our waterfront, and our Islands,” Tabuns added.
Toronto Port Authority President Roelof-Jan Steenstra supports Ford’s jets plan. The airport is governed by a 1983 tripartite agreement that includes the TPA, Transport Canada and the city. A CBC report in March said Ford will expropriate Toronto’s 20 per cent share of airport property (with compensation).
A May 2 Globe and Mail report said Ford and Steenstra have asserted that Ottawa is “on board with the concept” of lifting the ban on commercial jets at Billy Bishop Airport.
At its May meeting, City Council adopted a motion to ask the medical officer of health to collect “all available data” about the potential health impacts jets would have on nearby residential communities. Council declined a motion to hold a public referendum about jets at the airport.
Toronto-Danforth Councillor Paula Fletcher, whose Ward 14 includes Ookwemin Minising, did not reply to the bridge questions regarding jets and their potential impact on Ookwemin Minising.
