Dennis Hanagan –
City councillors want to know who would have benefited from the province’s plan to take over city land and expand Billy Bishop Toronto City Airport to accommodate jets.
Although the federal government said it’s halting expansion plans, Ontario Transport Minister Prabmeet Sarkaria was quick to announce that the province won’t give up.
“We look forward to continuing to work to advance the expansion of Billy Bishop Airport,” Sarkaria posted on X at 1:20 a.m. on July 25, less than a day after federal Transport Minister Steven MacKinnon’s announcement. “The benefits are clear: the project will contribute up to $8.5 billion to Canada’s economy every year, create thousands of jobs, and improve connectivity for millions of travellers and businesses across Ontario, North America and beyond,” Sarkaria said.
At the city’s Planning and Housing Committee meeting a week before, councillors questioned staff about who was behind efforts to expand the airport and expressed dismay that it might be a foreign influencer.
Nieuport Aviation, which owns and operates the passenger terminal, announced on its website in 2019 that institutional investors advised by J.P. Morgan Asset Management, headquartered in New York City, agreed to consolidate ownership of Nieuport Aviation through the acquisition of the interests owned by their current consortium partners.
The Toronto Star reported in July that Nieuport Aviation, which owns and operates the passenger terminal, “is facing multiple complaints over allegations it breached lobbying rules by failing to disclose its relationship with multitrillion-dollar American investment group, J.P. Morgan.” Nieuport, itself owned by “institutional investors advised by J.P. Morgan Asset Management,” said it is in compliance with the rules.
Ward 14 (Toronto-Danforth) Councillor Paula Fletcher warned that a “foreign country” appeared to be playing a role in the expansion effort. “The airport itself appears to be an entity that is being directed entirely from a foreign country. This is very disturbing.”
(The airport’s airfield and runways are owned and operated by the Toronto Port Authority, a federal agency.)
Ward 10 (Spadina-Fort York) Councillor Ausma Malik called for transparency about expansion advocates. “Torontonians and the public deserve to have those answers…[about] in whose interest this is all happening,” she said.
The committee agreed that if airport expansion efforts continue, City Council should ask the province and the Port Authority “to make information publicly available on the beneficial owners and controlling interests of Nieuport Aviation.”
The city is also miffed that no official plans about expansion were provided. Particularly concerned about housing and health along the waterfront, the committee also wants council to ask the province and Port Authority to “publicly disclose any plans, business cases or studies related to the proposed expansion.”
A staff report to the committee said announcements about the expansion plans had been made in the media “outside of the established and governing Tripartite Agreement” signed by the city, the Port Authority and Transport Canada.
In legislation passed this spring, Premier Doug Ford’s government ousted the city stake and took over city land on the Toronto Islands and Little Norway Park in front of the airport’s access terminal. After the federal cancellation, City Council demanded the return of land seized by the province.
Ward 12 (Toronto-St. Paul’s) Councillor Josh Matlow said the city has worked for more than two decades on a vision for Toronto’s waterfront covering transit, housing, employment zones, climate and the environment. “We’re not going to allow anyone to just rip it up because of somebody’s interests other than the public’s,” he said.
Committee chair and Ward 4 (Parkdale-High Park) Councillor Gord Perks said expanding Billy Bishop would bring “a massive change” to the waterfront and said the city needs to be provided with details. “Stop hiding behind this idea that we haven’t quite done the work yet. Somebody somewhere has done some work,” said an exasperated Perks.
At its July 13 meeting, the Toronto Board of Health had agreed that any proposal to expand the airport should be subject to a comprehensive assessment, involving the city’s medical officer of health, on the health effects of increased noise and air quality. The board also called on the Toronto Port Authority to fund Public Health’s participation in health studies.
