Tunnel Vision
As the Toronto Port Authority (TPA) races headlong to get its tunnel built between the mainland and the Billy Bishop Toronto Centre Airport (BBTCA), people who feel the Toronto Islands should remain islands, without a fixed link, may be interested in the origin and the impetus behind the link that doesn’t move.
On June 24, 2009 TPA Chairman Mark McQueen wrote his account of the evolution of the latest attempt to make the islands part of the mainland.
http://www.wellingtonfund.com/blog/2009/06/04/%E2%80%9Cpublic-service%E2%80%9D-%E2%80%94-easier-said-than-done-part-5/
According to Chairman McQueen, Mayor Barbara Hall advocated a large pedestrian tunnel more than five years ago. Mayor Hall also advocated a bridge to connect the airport to the mainland which is perhaps why she, although the front-runner, wasn’t re-elected.
In 2009, the tunnel idea became Chairman McQueen’s baby. However, according to him the tunnel wasn’t a particular project that he was looking to fund when the Conservative government sent out its wish list call for infrastructure money in February that year. His blog account says that the tunnel was a late addition.
On April 27, 2009 the Toronto City Centre Airport formally announced the new Porter terminal. Finance Minister Jim Flaherty, Minister of Transport John Baird, and Jean-Marc Lalonde, parliamentary secretary to Ontario's economic development minister, who said that he flies often on Porter for its convenience, were present.
According to Chairman McQueen, “Once the new terminal at the TCCA was formally announced on April 27th, it seemed appropriate to include the tunnel concept on the list of projects that the Minister could consider.” Chairman McQueen didn’t say if it was he who felt it appropriate to include the tunnel for John Baird to consider or if it was the movers and shakers getting together at the announcement and deciding the tunnel concept passed the smell test.
On May 14, 2009 Chairman McQueen added the tunnel to the list for stimulus funding. He then went to town.
On June 2, the Toronto Port Authority released a 14-page presentation hyping the tunnel concept. While referring to the TPA’s shoddy treatment of the Noise Management Advisory Study Group (NMASG) and a misrepresentation of noise readings as examples of progress, the presentation featured an even greater blunder: as part of a business case (based on dubious premises) it implied that the tunnel would ensure winter access to island residents. It failed to point out that once at the airport, island residents were not likely to be permitted to cross runways busy with 212 daily flights.
On June 3, the Star featured a story, Tunnel vision at island airport; Port authority eyes link to mainland under Lake Ontario. It reported on a Star editorial board meeting with Chairman McQueen.
On June 4, 2009 Chairman McQueen wrote in his blog, “Earlier this week, a few of us from the Toronto Port Authority (TPA) were given the opportunity to meet with the Editorial Board of the revitalized and energized Toronto Star.” It was indeed a fortunate break for Chairman McQueen that the Toronto Star, a newspaper he clearly admired and respected (unless he’s since changed his mind when it ran a series last fall on the dysfunctional TPA Board) saw his side of the issue.
On June 8 an editorial in the paper, For an island tunnel, showed the Star even bought the red herring:
“A tunnel would also provide island residents with reliable, year-around access to the mainland, thereby reducing the need for the costly winter ferry service to the islands.”
The editorial ignored the small problem of transporting several hundred people a day across a fully utilized runway.
The editorial board also seemed to forget that its parent company had negotiated a Star employee discount with Porter Airlines a year earlier and that Star employees would benefit from the convenience of a tunnel when taking their Porter flights.
Nothing more happened about the tunnel until July 24 when the Economic Club of Canada - seemingly out of the blue - wrote Transport Minister Baird in support of a tunnel. torontoport.com/PortAuthority/notices/EconomicClubJuly24.pdf
The letter contained the same misleading statement about reliable service for island residents. In a remarkable coincidence it repeated word for word the Star’s observation:
“A tunnel would also provide island residents with reliable, year-around access to the mainland, thereby reducing the need for the costly winter ferry service to the islands.”
Also coincidentally, the Economic Club of Canada and its founder and CEO Mark Adler are tied in to the same polling company that the TPA uses – Pollara.
See Economic Club of Canada/Pollara poll shows fundamental values of Canadians changing during recession at
http://www.newswire.ca/en/releases/archive/April2009/30/c6714.html.
For anyone curious as to Mr. Adler’s physiognomy, the following link goes to a photo of him with Environment Minister Jim Prentice and then Natural Resources Minister Lisa Raitt, former President and CEO of the TPA.
http://www.climatechange.gc.ca/default.asp?lang=En&n=7E0FA1DA-1
On August 6, the TPA released the results of a poll conducted by none other than Pollara. See Economic Club of Canada above. torontoport.com/PortAuthority/notices/TPARELEASEPolltunnelv11.pdf
The portion of the poll that the TPA chose to release claimed that 62% of surveyed Torontonians supported the tunnel concept. Observations and questions about the poll’s objectivity are mentioned in the following CommunityAIR blog posting. blog.communityair.org/2010/03/19/refuting-the-tpas-myths--facts-5.aspx
On August 11, the Toronto Board of Trade - also seemingly out of the blue - wrote Transport Minister Baird in support of a tunnel. torontoport.com/PortAuthority/notices/EconomicClubJuly24.pdf
However, their letter should come as no surprise. In a story carried by the Toronto Star on April 4, 1995, McLeod, Harris pledge to let jets use island airport, the Board of Trade was not only in favour of a fixed link but also jets.
On August 23, the TPA issued another press release mentioning the 62% support for the tunnel.
http://torontoport.com/PortAuthority/notices/TPARELEASEWaterfrontPoll2009v8.pdf
On August 24, the Star followed with a story, Tunnel to island airport by 2011?
It reported that Chairman McQueen issued a formal request for proposals to conduct an environmental assessment, the first step to any major construction project even though he didn’t have federal approval for the stimulus.
Lisa Raitt was the last TPA bigwig to attempt an end run when she issued contracts for steel work on the bridge although she didn’t have all the approvals. For her efforts, the TPA collected a cool $35 million over the possibility of lawsuits and she got a cabinet job in the Harper government. Carpe diem.
Of course, the Star editorial board obliged on August 25, with a second editorial, Tunnelling to the airport. It urged the feds to give Chairman McQueen his cash and once again repeated the misconception of island residents reaching their homes across a busy runway, surely a dead horse by now.
On October 6, the TPA issued a statement declaring that it had run out of time for the infrastructure money deadline. Not wishing to ‘cry uncle’, Chairman McQueen left the announcement up to Acting President and CEO Alan Paul.
http://www.torontoport.com/PortAuthority/media_content.asp?id=400
Chairman McQueen insisted in a Toronto Star article on October 18, Mark McQueen, czar of the Toronto waterfront, that the tunnel this time around was his idea. www.thestar.com/news/insight/article/711905
The article also paints him as a driven man who doesn’t like to lose. For better or for worse, if he succeeds, local history will remember him as the man who destroyed the Islands’ uniqueness.
Not everybody’s idea of a winner.
Bob Kotyk
On June 24, 2009 TPA Chairman Mark McQueen wrote his account of the evolution of the latest attempt to make the islands part of the mainland.
http://www.wellingtonfund.com/blog/2009/06/04/%E2%80%9Cpublic-service%E2%80%9D-%E2%80%94-easier-said-than-done-part-5/
According to Chairman McQueen, Mayor Barbara Hall advocated a large pedestrian tunnel more than five years ago. Mayor Hall also advocated a bridge to connect the airport to the mainland which is perhaps why she, although the front-runner, wasn’t re-elected.
In 2009, the tunnel idea became Chairman McQueen’s baby. However, according to him the tunnel wasn’t a particular project that he was looking to fund when the Conservative government sent out its wish list call for infrastructure money in February that year. His blog account says that the tunnel was a late addition.
On April 27, 2009 the Toronto City Centre Airport formally announced the new Porter terminal. Finance Minister Jim Flaherty, Minister of Transport John Baird, and Jean-Marc Lalonde, parliamentary secretary to Ontario's economic development minister, who said that he flies often on Porter for its convenience, were present.
According to Chairman McQueen, “Once the new terminal at the TCCA was formally announced on April 27th, it seemed appropriate to include the tunnel concept on the list of projects that the Minister could consider.” Chairman McQueen didn’t say if it was he who felt it appropriate to include the tunnel for John Baird to consider or if it was the movers and shakers getting together at the announcement and deciding the tunnel concept passed the smell test.
On May 14, 2009 Chairman McQueen added the tunnel to the list for stimulus funding. He then went to town.
On June 2, the Toronto Port Authority released a 14-page presentation hyping the tunnel concept. While referring to the TPA’s shoddy treatment of the Noise Management Advisory Study Group (NMASG) and a misrepresentation of noise readings as examples of progress, the presentation featured an even greater blunder: as part of a business case (based on dubious premises) it implied that the tunnel would ensure winter access to island residents. It failed to point out that once at the airport, island residents were not likely to be permitted to cross runways busy with 212 daily flights.
On June 3, the Star featured a story, Tunnel vision at island airport; Port authority eyes link to mainland under Lake Ontario. It reported on a Star editorial board meeting with Chairman McQueen.
On June 4, 2009 Chairman McQueen wrote in his blog, “Earlier this week, a few of us from the Toronto Port Authority (TPA) were given the opportunity to meet with the Editorial Board of the revitalized and energized Toronto Star.” It was indeed a fortunate break for Chairman McQueen that the Toronto Star, a newspaper he clearly admired and respected (unless he’s since changed his mind when it ran a series last fall on the dysfunctional TPA Board) saw his side of the issue.
On June 8 an editorial in the paper, For an island tunnel, showed the Star even bought the red herring:
“A tunnel would also provide island residents with reliable, year-around access to the mainland, thereby reducing the need for the costly winter ferry service to the islands.”
The editorial ignored the small problem of transporting several hundred people a day across a fully utilized runway.
The editorial board also seemed to forget that its parent company had negotiated a Star employee discount with Porter Airlines a year earlier and that Star employees would benefit from the convenience of a tunnel when taking their Porter flights.
Nothing more happened about the tunnel until July 24 when the Economic Club of Canada - seemingly out of the blue - wrote Transport Minister Baird in support of a tunnel. torontoport.com/PortAuthority/notices/EconomicClubJuly24.pdf
The letter contained the same misleading statement about reliable service for island residents. In a remarkable coincidence it repeated word for word the Star’s observation:
“A tunnel would also provide island residents with reliable, year-around access to the mainland, thereby reducing the need for the costly winter ferry service to the islands.”
Also coincidentally, the Economic Club of Canada and its founder and CEO Mark Adler are tied in to the same polling company that the TPA uses – Pollara.
See Economic Club of Canada/Pollara poll shows fundamental values of Canadians changing during recession at
http://www.newswire.ca/en/releases/archive/April2009/30/c6714.html.
For anyone curious as to Mr. Adler’s physiognomy, the following link goes to a photo of him with Environment Minister Jim Prentice and then Natural Resources Minister Lisa Raitt, former President and CEO of the TPA.
http://www.climatechange.gc.ca/default.asp?lang=En&n=7E0FA1DA-1
On August 6, the TPA released the results of a poll conducted by none other than Pollara. See Economic Club of Canada above. torontoport.com/PortAuthority/notices/TPARELEASEPolltunnelv11.pdf
The portion of the poll that the TPA chose to release claimed that 62% of surveyed Torontonians supported the tunnel concept. Observations and questions about the poll’s objectivity are mentioned in the following CommunityAIR blog posting. blog.communityair.org/2010/03/19/refuting-the-tpas-myths--facts-5.aspx
On August 11, the Toronto Board of Trade - also seemingly out of the blue - wrote Transport Minister Baird in support of a tunnel. torontoport.com/PortAuthority/notices/EconomicClubJuly24.pdf
However, their letter should come as no surprise. In a story carried by the Toronto Star on April 4, 1995, McLeod, Harris pledge to let jets use island airport, the Board of Trade was not only in favour of a fixed link but also jets.
On August 23, the TPA issued another press release mentioning the 62% support for the tunnel.
http://torontoport.com/PortAuthority/notices/TPARELEASEWaterfrontPoll2009v8.pdf
On August 24, the Star followed with a story, Tunnel to island airport by 2011?
It reported that Chairman McQueen issued a formal request for proposals to conduct an environmental assessment, the first step to any major construction project even though he didn’t have federal approval for the stimulus.
Lisa Raitt was the last TPA bigwig to attempt an end run when she issued contracts for steel work on the bridge although she didn’t have all the approvals. For her efforts, the TPA collected a cool $35 million over the possibility of lawsuits and she got a cabinet job in the Harper government. Carpe diem.
Of course, the Star editorial board obliged on August 25, with a second editorial, Tunnelling to the airport. It urged the feds to give Chairman McQueen his cash and once again repeated the misconception of island residents reaching their homes across a busy runway, surely a dead horse by now.
On October 6, the TPA issued a statement declaring that it had run out of time for the infrastructure money deadline. Not wishing to ‘cry uncle’, Chairman McQueen left the announcement up to Acting President and CEO Alan Paul.
http://www.torontoport.com/PortAuthority/media_content.asp?id=400
Chairman McQueen insisted in a Toronto Star article on October 18, Mark McQueen, czar of the Toronto waterfront, that the tunnel this time around was his idea. www.thestar.com/news/insight/article/711905
The article also paints him as a driven man who doesn’t like to lose. For better or for worse, if he succeeds, local history will remember him as the man who destroyed the Islands’ uniqueness.
Not everybody’s idea of a winner.
Bob Kotyk
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