Like most of the posters on this site, I don't like having scheduled airliners befouling a public benefit - Toronto harbour - with noise and noxiousness for the selfish benefit of a few. But I am afraid that the tactics of complaining, demonstrating, rationally arguing against the airport and Porter is not going to be effective, because we are not looking at the situation from the right angle.

Fundamentally, the Federal government wants to be able to control Toronto and its development. Both the Liberals and Conservatives have wanted this and there may well be a military case besides. One of their tools is control of the harbour. Now Toronto's harbour is too small to qualify as a federal institutiuon, so they need some other kind of business to excuse their being here. How about an airport, with a scheduled airline flying in and out? It won't make money? No problem. Robert Deluce is famous for running money-losing airlines, and we can offer perks and friendliness and drinks and fast customs clearance - all because we're not really running a business. We're running business theatre, providing an excuse to keep the plane makers busy, the airport busy, export development busy, Port Authority busy...all so the feds can keep an eye on Toronto, and stick an oar in when the local politics takes a dangerous turn.

Now I don't know if there is much truth in this, or it is mostly demented paranoia, but it does explain a few things. And it might suggest a change of strategies if we find we are not up against a rational constituted profit-making business, but rather some kind of Potemkin village airport that will succeed no matter what, because the party demands it.

Ted Syperek