The members of Community AIR (Airport Impact Review)would like to nominate Allan Sparrow in the leadership category of the TorontoGreen Awards. 

Allan's roots in the environmental movement in the Cityof Toronto go back to a time before there was a movement of any size.  His reputation was made when he was aCity of Toronto Councillor from 1974 to 1980, representing one of the downtownwards, but even before this he was involved in environmental issues.  Always an independent member ofcouncil, Allan, perhaps more than any other practicing politician of that day,worked to realize the values of environmentalism and the principles of theToronto Urban Reform Movement.  

Along with others such as Jane Jacobs, John Sewell andDavid Crombie, Allan was a leader of the opposition to the Spadina Expresswayin the late '60s and early '70s. Once elected to council he helped to create new planning guidelines thatbrought rapacious blockbusting development under control.  He promoted and helped to implement theSt. Lawrence Neighbourhood, stopped the widening of Bathurst and WellesleyStreets and was a founder of the City Cycling Committee.  At great personal cost, Allan was afounding member and leader of the Citizens Independent Review of PoliceActivities that insisted that police must be accountable to the community. 

Although an accomplished speaker, Allan Sparrow's stylewas not the fiery orator, able to electrify a crowd with his words.  He was a politician driven by reason,rationality and intellect who could persuade with the logic and sheer goodsense of his arguments.  Hisposition was always clear.  Hesupported livable neighbourhoods, controlled development, community facilitiesthat helped and sustained people and opposed the arbitrary power ofgovernments.  The clarity of hisarguments, his persistence and his knowledge of the political system and itsplayers, was what helped him prevail in issue after issue.

After his time in municipal politics, Allan pursued acareer as a private consultant, running his own business analyzing hightechnology companies, but he stayed involved in the political life of thecity.  In 1998 he and his familymoved to Toronto Island in order to live a more relaxed life only to find thatthe newly formed Toronto Port Authority planned a major expansion of theToronto Island Airport.

Allan immediately knew that an expanded Island Airportwould be a disaster for the City of Toronto and its plans to create a"clean, green Waterfront." Not only would it threaten the very dream of rejuvenating the derelictindustrial lands in the central part of the city, but an increase of airtraffic would bring substantial increases to air, water and noise pollution toone of the most densely populated part of the city.  Allan, in his focused, deliberate way, decided that he woulddo everything in his power to stop it.

The Toronto Port Authority and the supporters of airportexpansion had not reckoned on Allan Sparrow.  He began meeting with community groups that had formed alongthe Waterfront, telling them in his calm, rational manner what an expandedIsland Airport would do to their neighbourhood and its quality of life.  Then he formed Community AIR and beganputting together documents and studies on airports and the airline industryfrom around the world.  A websitewas created along with petitions, newsletters and information about howcitizens could get in contact with their politicians about the Island Airportexpansion. 

Allan knew exactly how to build a political movement tostop airport expansion.  He adoptedthe City of Toronto's four main planning principles in the document"Making Waves:  Principles forBuilding Toronto's Waterfront." The four principles are

These aims were a complete contradiction to theobjectives of the Port Authority and those that supported an expanded airport,and they have remained the founding principles for Community AIR to thisday.  Who could argue with this?  Public support expanded and grew.  The organization attracted the press,and Allan was an excellent spokesperson.   Working with people in the communities all along theWaterfront, Allan built Community AIR into a formidable force.  Over 2000 people are now supporters,and all the waterfront community organizations sit as members on the Advisorycommittee. 

Allan used every opportunity to underline the foolishnessof expanding the airport.  As thenumbers of people involved in Community AIR grew, the group took on the TorontoPort Authority at their Annual General Meetings.  They packed the room with members and brought the pressalong with them.  Questions wereraised, pointing out how the Port Authority failed to fulfill theirmandate.  The group challenged thePort Authority on their Environmental Assessment process, and took them tocourt for failing to adequately address the scope of the plans of airportexpansion.  At elections CommunityAIR held all-candidates meetings and disseminated information about the airportand the position of candidates on expansion.  Allan Sparrow knew that the more active and controversialCommunity AIR became, the greater the chance to stop airport expansion. 

Fighting the bridge to the Island Airport, led byCommunity AIR, became the defining issue in the 2003 municipal election andplayed a significant role in the election of David Miller as Mayor.  It was a daunting effort.  There were powerful forces supportingthe Toronto Port Authority and airport expansion.  The unions, the Ministry of Transport, politicalpork-barreling on the part of the Federal government, all conspired to crushthis issue, and yet it prevailed because the people in the City of Torontorecognized that it made absolutely no sense to expand an airport in the veryheart of the city and it's Waterfront. 

By the time that the bridge was finally cancelled, justafter the municipal election of 2003, the whole city of Toronto knew aboutIsland Airport expansion and Community AIR.  Already by this time Allan had become very ill and hadwithdrawn from the role of spokesperson for the group, but he was the one whodevised the strategy while others executed it.  It was one of the most remarkable citizen campaigns thatToronto has ever seen, and its author was Allan Sparrow. 

In 2006, NOW magazine awarded Community AIR its 2006winner for Best Activist Group. They said:

It was to Allan's credit that he was able to assemblesuch a strong support group.  Hedid it not as an ideologue, not as a politician, not as a great orator movingthe masses.  Allan Sparrow's waywas a careful analysis of the facts, a calm but forceful delivery and a leaderwho was always fearless in the face of the opposition.  That is the mark of a leader that canchange how people think of themselves and their city. 

These are some comments about Allan Sparrow's leadershipby members of Community AIR.

When Allan had to leave Community AIR due to poor health,members of Community AIR felt his loss deeply and yet his spirit, drive andresourcefulness continues to inspire the group. He retired to Stratfordeighteen months ago, but his entire political involvement has been inToronto.  For all of these reasonswe believe he would be a worthy recipient in the leadership category of theGreen Toronto Awards.