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The proposed expansion of Billy Bishop airport could cost as much as $5 billion and will be paid for travelers — not taxpayers — says the arms-length federal agency that operates the facility.
Toronto Port Authority CEO RJ Steenstra told a committee at Queen’s Park that taxpayers will not be asked to fund the controversial project, but that it will instead rely on fees paid by airport users.
The work will be done in phases over 25 years and would start with runway enhancements and then shift to the terminal buildings, he said.
“There’s typically a gate fee and then there are non-aeronautical revenues like concessions in the terminal, for example, so those all drive to the revenue of the airport,” Steenstra said in an interview with CBC News, describing fees that will be used to raise the billions required.
Steenstra was one of more than a dozen people who appeared before a legislative committee Tuesday to provide feedback on the province’s plan to takeover the island airport. The agency is attempting to plan for the future development of the facility, he said.
“We have a very prescriptive list of aircraft that can land at the airport, including World War Two bombers,” he said. “The only modern aircraft that is on that list today is the Q400, and that’s already 40-year-old technology.”
In March, Premier Doug Ford announced he would make Billy Bishop airport a “special economic zone,” which, under Bill 5, would allow the province to override certain laws in order to push ahead with development. A month later, the province introduced legislation that would see the province take over the City of Toronto’s spot in a tripartite agreement that governs the land.
The agreement is currently between the city, the federal government and the Toronto Port Authority. Toronto Mayor Olivia Chow opposes the province’s plan and has called the bill a “land grab.”
WATCH | Ontario to take over Toronto’s Billy Bishop airport: Ford:
Ontario to take over Toronto’s Billy Bishop airport: Ford
After days of speculation about changes to Billy Bishop Airport, Doug Ford says the province will take control from the City of Toronto. CBC’s Lane Harrison has the latest.Province pushing ahead with takeover legislation
Under questioning from opposition MPPs, Steenstra told the committee the agency had done preliminary studies, but had not completed a final business case for the expansion. That work is underway and will be released sometime in the next six months to a year.
“Once we can finalize the plan … we’ll incorporate inputs from the community, from Toronto, from the region, to ensure that we’re solving for problems (and) also enabling the airport for the future.”
Critics have slammed the government for pushing the bill forward quickly and without consultation, and warn it could damage Toronto’s waterfront.
Steenstra said the agency is listening.
“We understand those concerns, certainly we’re listening to that, but we’re very much making sure that the airport is ready for future progress,” he said.
Ontario Transportation Minister Prabmeet Sarkaria is defending a provincial plan to takeover and expand Toronto’s Billy Bishop airport. (CBC)Sarkaria defends airport expansion plan
Ontario’s transportation minister also appeared before the committee and defended the government plan.
Prabmeet Sarkaria said the expansion will help bolster the provinces’ tourism industry, provide improved access to the city for northern communities and create thousands of construction jobs. The minister also stressed that the government sees the expansion as a way to address economic uncertainty created by U.S. President Donald Trump’s tariffs.
“This is so important for us from a competitiveness perspective,” Sarkaria said. “Why are we talking about nation-building projects today? It’s because of the threat we face from south of the border.”
NDP MPP Chris Glover said the government hasn’t done its homework on the proposal and needs to drop the plan.
“The government has not looked at the cost benefits of expanding this airport, and this is really frightening,” said NDP MPP Chris Glover.
WATCH | Why experts are skeptical about the island airport expansion benefits:
Economic boost from Toronto Island airport expansion likely overblown, say experts
The Ontario government says expanding the Toronto Island airport to allow jets would contribute up to $8.5 billion to the economy each year by 2050. As Sarah MacMillan reports, there’s no completed study to back up that claim, and several experts say they’re skeptical.
Former federal conservative cabinet minister and former Toronto mayor David Crombie condemned the government push to expand the airport.
The city, province and federal government have worked together under a tripartite agreement for decades to strike an important balance on the city’s waterfront that allows Billy Bishop to operate within the existing community, he said.
That will all change if the province pushes forward with its plan, he told the committee.
“I’m asking you, with whatever strength you command, please withdraw this bill. It’ll wreck the waterfront,” he told the committee.