Part 1

Thanks for taking the time to post your concerns on this site. Tens of thousands of Torontonians use the TCCA each and every month, but the TPA is highly conscious about noise complaints from our neighbours.

Over the past few months the TPA Board has tried to re-engage with the City given the wide variety of issues that we share in common. I recently met with both the Mayor’s Office and Councillor Vaughan, and have offered to meet with Councillors McConnell and Fletcher when their schedules permit. You should know that all of my own Board meeting fees are donated to local charities each year, and I am therefore a volunteer who is trying to make our City a better place to live. These donations, in a small way, improve several organizations that are used by your neighbours with much regularity.

The TCCA has been in operation since 1939, and every single resident along the Waterfront bought or rented their residence with the full knowledge that they were going to be living near an airport. As for the speculators (according to real estate industry sources, between 25-40% of the suites in recently constructed condo buildings have been acquired by “investors” who do not live in their units) who bought condos in the hopes that the TCCA would be closed, driving up local condo prices and giving them a quick capital gain, we must be conscious of their motivation regarding the TCCA when they complain about its 70 year existence.

That being said, many condos are either i) owner-occupied, or ii) rented under normal contracts. I am sympathetic to any and all noise complaints involving these residents. I think you and I are in absolute agreement regarding the basic principle that TCCA commercial and private users need to comply with both the spirit and the letter of the Tripartite Agreement. In light of the many thousands of residents along the waterfront, it must be acknowledged that TPA received complaints from only 44 citizens during the month of May; any extremely low percentage of the relevant population base. And while we naturally strive for zero complaints, this compares well in my mind to what I assume were the 1,000+ different complaints that each City Councillor received regarding snow removal, for example, during the month of February 2008.

15% of these noise complaints appear to have been related to the Province of Ontario’s Air Ambulance. You may find it interesting that over the past 10 days, this very Air Ambulance flew over my home (situated well north of Bloor Street) on three different occasions, likely on the way to the Hospital for Sick Children; I did not call my City Councillor or MPP to complain of the loud noise that is generated by a low flying helicopter. I was just hopeful that the young occupant got the emergency care he/she required, and am glad that we live in a society that can afford such life-saving tools.

Part 2

We must agree that:

i) The Air Ambulance has been based at TCCA since 1991, long before many of the buildings were constructed anywhere near the TCCA site;
ii) It is not for the TPA to second guess where the emergency professionals who work for the Province of Ontario believe the Air Ambulance should be based. Many residents complain that the Air Ambulance should be based at Buttonville, but this is not a TPA decision;
iii) As Canada’s largest City, Toronto needs to have such tools close at hand. Balmoral Avenue would be also quieter if it didn’t have a Pumper Truck in that Firehall, Chaplin would be quieter if not for the Metro Ambulance depot at Eglinton, South Rosedale would be quieter if it wasn’t located near the Sherbourne / Bloor Aerial Truck; the East Annex Heritage District would be quieter if the restaurants at “Ave & Dav” were closed immediately. Living in a City involves some ambient noise, whichever neighbourhood you choose to reside in;
iv) It is due to Toronto’s history that many of the key hospitals are located downtown, which is the sole reason why several such Air Ambulance flights occur each day in the downtown core, and to-and-from the TCCA;
v) If the residents along the Waterfront who call the TPA to complain about the movements of the Air Ambulance had children or grandchildren involved with these life-saving flights, they would undoubtedly feel differently about its presence at the TCCA, or anywhere else for that matter.

I have looked into the commercial noise situation myself, and have been to the Porter offices for a briefing. In light of one specifically unfortunate commercially-generated post-11:00 p.m. noise event, TPA has begun a new initiative with Transport Canada to develop regulations to enforce curfew violations. At the present time, to my surprise, no such regulations exist. TPA’s Board and Staff are on top of this.

I have spoken to the Chief Executive Officer of Porter Airlines personally regarding the noise issue. I have impressed upon him our desire to avoid any excessive noise, or circumstances where the airline might be active late in the day or early in the morning. He is sensitive to our concerns, and is actively attempting to find a long term solution to the Newark flight-related 11:00 p.m. issue in particular.

On the subject of "gunfire" at TCCA, I am advised that TPA does not use guns to control wildlife. You are hearing "bangers" and seeing "streamers". Pearson Airport uses these techniques, and also has a "Bird of Prey" program to control seaguls, pigeons, etc. "Flares" do not work in these situations, and TPA does not utilize them.

It is my understanding that the TPA does not owe the City "$45 million". We eagerly await the ruling of an independent PILTs panel regarding "who owes who" what.

I appreciate the opportunity to clarify these concerns.

Mark McQueen