As noted in my response to Ken Lundy, the ICAO rule that allows averaging of noise readings for the Q400 is not imported into the tripartite agreement, and can’t be relied on to bring ther Q400 onside of the very strict noise limits in the tripartite agreement.

Of course the TPA and Transport Canada consider the Q400 to be a Dash-8 - they have a strong vested interest in doing so, is spite of the fact that the only Dash-8 permitted by the tripartite agreement is for general aviation, not commercial passenger service, and was about half the size of the Q400.

For commercial passenger service, the agreement says only limited commercial STOL (short-takeoff-and-landing) service is permitted. The Q400, everyone agrees, is not STOL.

And that provision for limited commercial STOL service was inserted into the tripartite agreement in 1985 only after a huge battle to prevent commercial use of the airport. Predictions back then that that small opening for commercial passenger service would be, as Jane Jacobs has said, a Trojan horse leading to a massive expansion of commercial passenger service, has come true, in spades.

The tripartite agreement was drafted in the 1980s to protect our waterfront and its residents from excessive noise. It needs to be respected, and enforced, not ignored and disregarded - or amended to legitimize what Porter is currently getting away with.
Only the City can enforce the agreement. We need to let David Miller know emphatically that it’s way past time for him to show leadership, and get moving.

We think an application to the courts to clarify the tripartite agreement’s meaning on both of these points would be a simple, and reasonably inexpensive, initiative for the City to pursue. The case is a strong one, and should be brought immediately.

Brian Iler, chair
CommunityAIR