Toronto's money-leaking port authority has hit a new patch of rough water with its governing board split over who should take the helm. Both the past head of the Toronto Port Authority board and its current leader have their backers. Appeals are being made to Queen's Park and Ottawa.

But the cleanest way to resolve this unseemly dispute is to do the obvious and scuttle the port authority, dismiss its entire board and hand its duties to a new agency dominated by municipal representatives. Right now, five out of the board's seven seats go to unelected federal appointees, with one each appointed by the province and the city. (The city, boycotting the authority, has not filled its seat.)

Citing its legacy of failed ventures, lawsuits against the city and money-losing operations, Mayor David Miller has urged Ottawa to get rid of the port authority. Unfortunately, Miller doesn't stop there. He also wants to close the Toronto Island airport, which now is the responsibility of the port authority, and find another use for the site.

That might please a relatively small group of anti-airport activists, but it would not serve the interests of the many Torontonians who find it a convenient travel option. And it is one reason Ottawa might think twice before getting rid of the port authority.

The city would make more headway in sinking the port authority and assuming its duties if Miller were to pledge to keep the airport open as part of the exchange.