On March 24^th the Toronto Port Authority held a meeting at Harbourfront Community Centre to fulfil its obligation for public participation of the Environmental Assessment of the proposed tunnel to the Island Airport.  The meeting was packed with community residents from the Bathurst Quay neighbourhood and the condominiums along Queen’s Quay anxious to get some answers.

The Port Authority had expected that they could show some displays about the tunnel and answer some questions, but the people who attended insisted that there be a meeting to discuss the project.  The meeting was conducted by Brian Iler, chair of CommunityAIR, and questions were answered by Ken Lundy, the manager of the airport and Doug McLeod from Dillon Consulting, the firm conducting the Environmental Assessment.  Councillor Adam Vaughan was also at the meeting and took an active part.

Lundy and McLeod were peppered with questions from the audience about the project and many in the audience expressed their opposition to the tunnel project.  These were some of the points that were made and the answers given.

 ·         Does the Toronto Port Authority need permission from other levels of government to construct the tunnel project?  Answer:  No

·         The tunnel is a fixed link and there is a federal government regulation prohibiting a fixed link to the Island Airport.  The tunnel is illegal.  How can you build it?  Answer:  The TPA has a legal opinion that the tunnel is not a fixed link according to the regulation.

·         The floor of Lake Ontario is a provincial park.  Do you have provincial permission to build the tunnel?  Answer:  No.  (This never seemed to have occurred to the TPA.)

·         What public body will make the final decision to approve the Environmental Assessment and approve the construction of the tunnel?  Answer:  The Toronto Port Authority.  (The TPA approves its own Environmental Assessment.)

·         How much will the tunnel cost?  Answer:  $45 million.  It will be paid for out of airport landing fees.  (Canadian taxpayers have already paid at least $110 million to the Toronto Port Authority that has been used to keep the airport open.  In addition, the Toronto Port Authority has bought two ferries at the cost of $5 million each and has built terminals at either side of the Western Gap.  Now they propose to spend another $45 million to build a tunnel.  All of this has been done to facilitate the expansion of the airport.  The main beneficiary of all of these expenditures is Porter Airlines.) 

·         Once the tunnel is built will you stop ferry service?  Answer: the ferries will run on an as needed basis.  The tunnel cannot handle vehicles.

·         The tunnel is very large.  Is the plan to convert it into a tunnel for vehicles?  Answer: No.  It is a pedestrian tunnel.

·         The tunnel will be built to facilitate the expansion of the Island Airport.  Why does the Environmental Assessment not include a study of the impact of airport expansion on the surrounding communities, the Waterfront and the city?  Answer:  The EA will just focus on the tunnel.

 During the question and answer session the following three motions were presented to the meeting and were passed unanimously.

 1.      That this tunnel proposal is in violation of the Canada Marine Act prohibition of a bridge or similar fixed link to the Island airport, and therefore all work on it must stop.

2.      That the scope of this environmental assessment be expanded to address the environmental impact of the dramatic expansion of the commercial operations of the airport to the stated maximum of 212 daily landings and take-offs, of which this tunnel project is but a part.

3.      As the law requires public participation in the screening of a project in which there is public interest, and as there is a high level of public interest in this project, that participation by the public must occur, that goes well beyond mere consultation to include public participation in the following decisions:

                                                              i.      The choice of consultants

                                                            ii.      The scope of the EA

                                                          iii.      The types of studies to be done

                                                          iv.      The terms of reference for the required studies

                                                            v.      Determining the manner of public engagement, and

                                                          vi.      Assessment and determination of the EA recommendations

Bill Freeman