Passionate discussion of jets at May 6 WFA Speaker Series Event

Thanks to all who came to our Zoom event; a recording is here.

Our speakers included Toronto City Ward 12 Councillor Josh Matlow, who has emerged as a key voice in the jets debate, and former Chair of Waterfront Toronto Mark Wilson with a fascinating presentation on how the Alto high speed rail project will cut into BBTCA's already declining short-hop flight business to Ottawa and Montreal, undercutting the already weak economic case for jets at BBTCA.

We also had a spontaneous guest appearance by former Toronto top planner Paul Bedford.

The very same evening, this great article in Spacing magazine appeared, featuring the image shown above of what a jet expansion at the Island Airport would actually look like.

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Don’t miss Ken Greenberg’s opinion piece in the Toronto Star, July 8, 2026; if the Federal government delays quashing the BBTCA jets proposal, the resulting uncertainty will hurt the multi-billion Toronto Waterfront revitalization project because key investments won’t happen.

Bob Rae talks Billy Bishop with Steve Paikin

Bob Rae talks with Steve Paikin on The Paikin Podcast about Billy Bishop Airport & other current issues. [Note: Bob Rae's remarks on Billy Bishop begin at the 24:10 min mark.] Click here to go to the video.

Sandford Borins on the lessons from 1972 (Pickering vs Pearson) for 2026 (Billy Bishop vs Pearson)

Recommending Sandford Borins' excellent blog post on the lessons for us today from the Pickering Airport debate and analysis in the 1970s:

In 1972, it was clearly understood that air traffic in Toronto was increasing, and it would be accommodated at either Pearson or Pickering. Both were seen as having a regional economic impact, in that Pearson would contribute to growth on the west side of Toronto, while establishing an airport at Pickering would shift some growth to the east of the city. Overall economic activity in the GTA would be the same whether Pearson was expanded or a new airport built at Pickering. This is different from the Toronto Port Authority and Ford Government refusing to acknowledge that, if Billy Bishop is not expanded, traffic will be accommodated at Pearson, and overall economic activity will be the same.

Click here to read "We Were Much Smarter 50 Years Ago"

Speaker Series Event, May 6, 2026

Passionate discussion of jets at May 6 WFA Speaker Series Event

Bob Rae talks with Steve Paikin on The Paikin Podcast about Billy Bishop Airport & other current issues. [Note: Bob Rae's remarks on Billy Bishop begin at the 24:10 min mark.] Click here to go to the video.

Recommending Sandford Borins' excellent blog post on the lessons for us today from the Pickering Airport debate and analysis in the 1970s:

Click here to read "We Were Much Smarter 50 Years Ago"