Dear Reader

Groups like CommunityAIR are often accused of being selfish.  The usual accusation is NIMBY.  We think that is unfair.

Yes, we do not want an airport on the Waterfront because it brings air pollution and excessive noise to the very heart of the city and its chief recreational resource.  The area in the immediate vicinity of the Island Airport is a densely populated neighbourhood and over the next few years thousands more people will come to live and work in the immediate area.  The Island Airport is only two kilometers from the central business district of Toronto.  We believe that it is a totally inappropriate location for a busy airport and flights out of the Island affect far more people than flights out of Pearson.

That does not mean to say that we believe that we think that Pearson should be loaded with more flights.  Members of CommunityAIR are in favour of significantly reducing air travel.  We support high speed rail along the Windsor, Toronto, Ottawa, Montreal, Quebec corridor.  That is the type of infrastructure that we should be building in this country. 

Short haul flights are a particular problem because they are by far the most polluting way of moving people.  Porter Airlines specializes in short haul flights and has been particularly successful in their Toronto-Ottawa and Montreal flights.  Those are exactly the flights that should be eliminated.

If we have not been totally responsive to the postings on the blog, we apologize.  Everyone in CommunityAIR is a volunteer and we are doing what we can to fight this issue.  Keep tuned.  The struggle continues.

Bill Freeman, for
CommunityAIR