Joe, you conveniently ignore the fact that the Q400s do not comply with STOL or the noise limitations set out by the agreement. How is this fair, honest, and reasonable? 'Curfew violations are way down'? They should never have happened at all. It is only because of community pressure that they are down. Has Porter ever paid a penalty for their breaches? As for the wildlfe and noise studies, environmental studies have been done before, the results are always favourable to the airport, the TPA hires their own consultants and it appears that they dictate the results of the studies. Has any study ever resulted in curtailing expansion or been in favourable to the community?

I don't buy that the airport can't be closed. The land is zoned as parkland. Parkland it should be. People have pointed out that this would never happen in NY, I use the analogy of Sydney harbour. Do you think that the people of Sydney would allow an airport to fly planes over their opera house and bridge? It's unsightly, noisy, industrial use and would destroy the greatest tourist attraction they have. Toronto could also have a beautiful harbour like Sydney with lots of green space, beaches, bicycle paths, attractions.

Seeking improvements? How? There is no dialog between Porter and the community. Does the TPA have a voting community member on their board? Living on the waterfront has become unbearable because of the airport, it's trite to suggest that we merely seek improvements with an organisation that is our nemesis, while increasingly we are kept awake by noise, we breathe the toxins and our children are threatened by ever more speeding taxis. It will only get worse. The TPA and Porter have millions of dollars at their disposal to win patronage, put full page ads in the paper, hand out free tickets to potential customers, woo clients with leather seats and free cappucinos, spin public opinion any way they want. CommunityAIR on the other hand is a shoestring operation of volunteers and non-tax-refundable donations. How do you honestly think we can work out anything that will make the community happy?

You want to be fair, honest, reasonable? Then explain why Porter enjoys a monopoly at TCCA, why the Port Authority has always run at a deficit in the $millions even though according to the Marine Act they are required to be self-sufficient, why the Canadian tax-payers must pay for the TPA and subsidize airport expansion, why when the people of Toronto chose a mayor who opposed airport expansion, the federal government and the TPA were allowed to move ahead with expansion. You say you understand our frustration having lived near Pearson for almost 13 years. You also benefit financially from Pearson as an air traffic controller - in one of the highest-paid careers in NA- it's hard not to see a bias or a hidden agenda here.

Anonymous