What's in a name?
So the members of the Board of the Toronto Port Authority have decided to call the Island Airport the "Billy Bishop Airport." In reality only some members of the board have made this decision. We heard yesterday that the name change has not come to the board for a decision. But then, that is the way that they seem to like to do business at the TPA.
I for one will never use that name. Not that I don't think Billy Bishop wasn't a great Canadian. I have even written about him, which is more, I expect, than any member of the TPA board. But this name change is just another way that the board, Porter Airlines and their business cronies are trying to gain support for this airport ruining our Waterfront.
You will recall that they tried this tactic once before when they changed the name to the Toronto City Centre Airport, but that name never stuck either. Everyone continued to call it the Island Airport, and the same will be true of this time.
In the minds of Torontonians it will always be the Island Airport because that is where it is located. That name is appropriate for another reason. The Island is a precious place for Torontonians. It is a magical place where they can go to relax and enjoy nature. On the Island there are no cars, and there is a human scale to things. Yes, and the Island is surrounded by the waters of the bay and Lake Ontario where boaters can get away from the city. It is important that we call it the Island Airport because every time the name is used it reminds us that this airport is ruining a thing we love.
"A rose by any other name would smell as sweet," as Shakespeare said and so it is also true that, "An airport by any name would stink as bad."
And that is why the airport - no matter what its name - has to close. The Waterfront and the Islands are just too precious to lose to a massive airport.
Bill Freeman
I for one will never use that name. Not that I don't think Billy Bishop wasn't a great Canadian. I have even written about him, which is more, I expect, than any member of the TPA board. But this name change is just another way that the board, Porter Airlines and their business cronies are trying to gain support for this airport ruining our Waterfront.
You will recall that they tried this tactic once before when they changed the name to the Toronto City Centre Airport, but that name never stuck either. Everyone continued to call it the Island Airport, and the same will be true of this time.
In the minds of Torontonians it will always be the Island Airport because that is where it is located. That name is appropriate for another reason. The Island is a precious place for Torontonians. It is a magical place where they can go to relax and enjoy nature. On the Island there are no cars, and there is a human scale to things. Yes, and the Island is surrounded by the waters of the bay and Lake Ontario where boaters can get away from the city. It is important that we call it the Island Airport because every time the name is used it reminds us that this airport is ruining a thing we love.
"A rose by any other name would smell as sweet," as Shakespeare said and so it is also true that, "An airport by any name would stink as bad."
And that is why the airport - no matter what its name - has to close. The Waterfront and the Islands are just too precious to lose to a massive airport.
Bill Freeman
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