Contact:  Brian Iler, Chair, CommunityAIR
                Work: (416)598-0103 x114
                Cell: (416)835-4384
                 biler@ilercampbell.com

Questionnaire Results: Strong Support for Devolution and Enforcement of Community Rights

CommunityAIR’s questionnaire of local candidates revealed unanimous support for two key CommunityAIR  goals: devolution and enforcement of the community rights enshrined in the tripartite agreement, which governs the Toronto Island airport.

“We are most pleased that all Liberal, NDP and green candidates responding to our questions expressed strong support for the transfer of Toronto Port Authority assets to the City of Toronto” said Brian Iler, Chair f CommunityAIR. Such a transfer, or devolution, was recently recommended by David Crombie for the Oshawa Port lands.

In the face of repeated and flagrant breaches of the tripartite agreement’s community rights, all responding candidates endorsed enforcement. “These breaches have been emphatically pointed out to the Toronto Port Authority’s management and directors – the curfew was breached yet again last night. Yet they continue to allow Porter Air and others to regularly violate them. It’s time now for the other two parties to the tripartite agreement – the City and Transport Canada -  to force the TPA to clean up its act”, added Iler.

The candidates were slightly less supportive of CommunityAIR’s request that they publicly refuse to use the Island airport, in light of these repeated and flagrant breaches.

No Conservative candidate replied to the questionnaire.

A. Questions to Candidates

Question 1 - Devolution:
 Former Toronto Mayor David Crombie, appointed to look into the affairs of the Port of Oshawa, recently recommended that the property held by Oshawa Harbour Commission be turned over to the City of Oshawa, and the Harbour Commission disbanded. From his report (at http://www.tc.gc.ca/programs/ports/crombie.htm):

"[My] recommendations embrace three fundamental concepts. First, the Oshawa waterfront must be shared by all stakeholders in a mixed use environment: industrial, residential, retail, recreational users can co-exist under a management regime appropriate to this port. Second, the port lands and the contiguous areas need a single owner if the conflict and competition over their use is to be brought to an end. Third, any surpluses realized from the sale or development of waterfront properties should be dedicated to and used exclusively for the further improvement of the harbour and waterfront."

These concepts are directly applicable to the mess in Toronto’s harbour: the Toronto Port Authority operates a port that is neither self-sufficient, or “of strategic significance to Canada’s trade” as required for designation as a Port Authority under the Canada Marine Act. In fact, the port has consistently lost huge sums each year of its existence, and its board is dominated by federal political appointees with no demonstrated engagement in any Port activity. The Toronto Port Authority has consistently failed to demonstrate any ability or willingness to be accountable to the people of Toronto.

David Crombie recommended that all Oshawa port lands be transferred to the City of Oshawa, without payment. A similar transfer of Toronto Port Authority lands to the City of Toronto would be a major advance towards finally resolving the Toronto Port Authority mess.

Do you agree that the Crombie solution for Oshawa should also apply to Toronto?

Question 2 - Noise

Noise from the hugely expanding commercial operations of the Toronto Island Airport has become unbearable for many nearby residents. The Noise Complaint Summaries, posted on the Toronto Port Authority website [http://www.torontoport.com/Airport_Nsummary.asp]  demonstrate an increasing number of often desperate complaints.

Worse, the Toronto Port Authority has ignored the constraints imposed on it by the Tripartite Agreement for the protection of residents from that noise.

Will you support efforts to enforce the terms of the Tripartite Agreement in full?

Question 3 -  Supporting the Affected Communities

Will you support the residents of the homes abutting the Island Airport to live in peace by publically commit to not use the Toronto Island Airport for your travel?

Question 4 -  Climate Change

Short-haul flights, on a passenger-kilometre basis, emit far  more greenhouse gas than bus or rail, as illustrated clearly by this chart from “Aviation and the Global Atmosphere” published by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change[i]
 

Given the urgent need to address greenhouse gas-caused climate change, do you support government policies that encourage and develop high speed rail in the Windsor - Toronto - Montreal - Quebec City corridor, and discourage short-haul flights?