On May 5, Anonymous wrote in a posting titled Why can't the airport close? “There is no dialog between Porter and the community.” If the public utterings of Robert Deluce, Porter, President & CEO, are anything to go by, Anonymous is spot on.

A Globe and Mail article, Porterize Me, August 28, 2008, had this to say about the Q400. “Then there was the "Q" factor—"Q" for quiet. ("Have you noticed any taking off?" asks Deluce, seated now in his office by the runway. "We're sitting about as close as anyone could to the runway out here.") quoting Mr. Deluce.

Mr. Deluce’s assertion about the quiet plane was repeated in an article on flightglobal.com on February 4, 2009 which states, “Deluce notes that Porter tried to meet neighbours' concerns about noise and emissions by choosing Bombardier's DeHavilland Q400, a 70-seater that in addition to running quietly and cleanly has the advantage of being manufactured in a nearby part of Toronto.”

On April 4, 2009 in Has Porter Won?, an article in the Globe & Mail, made the following observation. “He also dismissed the threat of complaints about noise. ‘It really isn't relevant any more.’”

With an opening position like Mr. Deluce`s, what kind of dialogue is possible between Porter and the community?

Bob Kotyk