Carol Goar has an article in the Toronto Star today, titled, "Wanted: An issue to define Miller era," which deals with the mayor's failure on the Waterfront.  You can find it at this address:

http://www.thestar.com/searchresults?AssetType=article&dt=&stype=genSearch&q=Wanted:%20An%20issue%20to%20define%20Miller%20era&r=all:1

Goar points out that six years ago, in the 2003 election, "the fate of the Toronto Island Airport polarized the city, dominated the municipal election and propelled David Miller into office."  Now, "saving the waterfront from noise, traffic and pollution is no longer the centrepiece of Miller's vision."

In the 2003 election David Miller's signs said, "No Island Airport Expansion."  Right after the election he engineered the cancellation of the bridge by city council, but since that time the mayor has sat back and watched while Porter Airlines established a major commercial airline operation at the Island Airport.  The announcement by Porter this week of a $45 million terminal expansion and the increase of the number of Porter planes from eight to eighteen, leaves little doubt that major expansion is underway, but where is Mayor Miller?  When is he going to fulfill his promise of "no Island Airport expansion"?

When the Tripartite Agreement regulating the operations of the Island Airport was signed, a number of conditions were put into the agreement to protect the community.  The most important conditions were no fixed link, the commercial aircraft were to have STOL (Short Take-Off and Landing) capability and clear noise guidelines.  David Miller stopped the bridge in 2003, but the Q400 aircraft used by Porter do not have STOL capability and testing done by an international agency establishes without a doubt that the planes violate the noise regulations.

For almost a year members of CommunityAIR have brought this to the attention of the mayor and his staff but nothing has been done.  As Carol Goar points out, it seems that, "saving the waterfront from noise, traffic and pollution is no longer the centrepiece of Miller's vision."  The hopes of the Waterfront community and the hopes of all the people of Toronto who dream of a revitalized, vibrant Waterfront have been dashed, and we are faced with a major airport expansion in the very heart of the central Waterfront. 

The situation is only going to get worse.  By the end of this year, when Porter has 18 planes, the commercial operations at the airport will expand by over 100%.  There will be more than twice as many take-offs and landings, twice as many taxis, twice as many cars and twice the amount of air pollution.

Mayor Miller, it is time to stand up and say, "NO!"  The people of Toronto want a "clean, green Waterfront" for all of the people.  We must not sacrifice the city's most precious recourse so that a few people can get to a meeting in Ottawa or Montreal ten minutes faster.  It is time for leadership before our dreams of a spectacular Waterfront are lost.

Bill Freeman