Ontario passed legislation earlier this year allowing it to seize the City of Toronto’s stake in Billy Bishop Airport.Duane Cole/The Globe and Mail
Toronto City Council has voted against a motion asking Ontario to hold a referendum to measure support for the proposed expansion of the downtown Billy Bishop Airport.
The motion recommended an amendment to the Municipal Elections Act to include a question during municipal elections in October asking voters if they support the expansion plans.
The provincial government passed legislation earlier this year allowing it to seize the City of Toronto’s stake in the airport, which is located on the Toronto Islands in Lake Ontario, a short distance from downtown Toronto. The legislation lets the province approve the expansion, which would allow jets to land at the airport, over the city’s objections.
The city has the power to add referendum questions to municipal election ballots, but the Municipal Elections Act sets a deadline of March 1. The province announced its plan for Billy Bishop on March 23 and introduced legislation related to the airport expansion a month later.
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“I don’t know if it was an accident ... that Doug Ford kept this whole plan secret until it was too late for us to have a referendum question,” said Councillor Dianne Saxe, before the vote happened yesterday. “If he was planning this, he could’ve talked about it in the provincial election.”
Ms. Saxe said that it is important for the residents of Toronto to have a say in this matter, and having a referendum question on the ballot is the only way.
The council voted against the motion 16-9.
Councillor Shelley Carroll opposed the motion. She cited other referendums across the world and said that referendums reduce everything to a binary decision and are notorious for having bad results.
“I will not vote for a motion that says ‘let’s have a referendum on a binary issue like this,’” she said.
Ontario Premier Doug Ford has described Billy Bishop as a “crown jewel” and argues the expansion would boost the economy and create jobs.
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Norm Di Pasquale, chair of NoJetsTO, a group advocating against the expansion, said he didn’t think the province would listen to the results of a referendum even if it did happen.
He said the organization “appreciates the efforts of Toronto council,” but sees the Ford government “spinning whatever results come out of the plebiscite in their favour.”
The new legislation would allow the province to take over Toronto’s role in a 43-year-old agreement between Ottawa, the city and the Toronto Port Authority, which is a federal agency. Currently, the agreement bans jets from flying in and out of the airport, but allows turboprop planes operated by Porter Airlines and Air Canada.
On Friday morning, when asked about the results of the motion, Toronto Mayor Olivia Chow said that democracy matters and Toronto residents should be consulted and have a say in a project such as the expansion of the Billy Bishop Airport.
Councillor Paula Fletcher, who voted in favour of the motion, asked: “Do we want a lake shore that is so congested nobody can actually move through the city? I would have to say no, we don’t want that.”