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 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:
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"
We have posted the recording of our June 24th Speaker Series #24
The Costs of Uncertainty: Jet Expansion at Billy Bishop Toronto Centre Airport
Video Recording:
https://youtu.be/CeWe6-N3lqs?si=vr1ckUqu4bnQlF5P
Featuring:
Ken Greenberg, Urban Designer, Member of the Order of Canada. Ken's speaker notes.
Ed Hore, Chair, Waterfront for All
Ron Jenkins, Board Secretary, Waterfront for All. Ron's deck.
Edward Nixon, Director Eastern Waterfront, Waterfront for All
And special guest, Paul Bedford, former Chief Planner for the City of Toronto
Waterfront for All - Waterfront Update June 2026 - Click here to Sign Up as a Member today
by donating $20 or more annually to get our newsletter.
Here are some highlights:
“Reality Check” by Prominent Torontonians
Ken Greenberg, Margaret Atwood, former Ontario Premier Bob Rae, David Mirvish, former Mayors David Crombie and Art Eggleton, and other notable Torontonians are delivering a Reality Check to federal Liberal MPs. [https://torealitycheck.ca/]
This web site also includes a substantial report on the proposed BBTCA runway expansion [https://torealitycheck.ca/full-report.pdf] as well as a report summary: [https://torealitycheck.ca/executive-summary.pdf].
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Scarborough Bluffs West Project
The Scarborough Bluffs West Project is major initiative from the Toronto Region Conservation Authority and the City of Toronto on a key section of our waterfront. It follows the Scarborough Waterfront Project on the eastern section of the Bluffs (from Bluffers Beach to East Point Park), that is currently in its implementation phase.
The Scarborough Bluffs West Project Environmental Assent will explore enhancing and protecting the sensitive shoreline and the Bluffs from erosion, as well as opportunities for improved waterfront experience and trail access between the Eastern Beaches (Silver Birch Avenue) and Bluffer’s Park along Lake Ontario.
Visit the link for detailed consultation materials and to complete a survey on the project (deadline: June 30 2026).
HERE IS THE LINK TO HAVE YOUR SAY: https://www.toronto.ca/community-people/get-involved/public-consultations/infrastructure-projects/scarborough-bluffs-west-revitalization/
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City Staff submitted a report dated May 28, 2026 to the Planning and Housing Committee saying the latest jet proposal has huge implications for planning and housing in the fastest-growing areas of Toronto, yet the City has been given almost no information.
Ed Hore, Chair of WFA, commented at the June 11 Committee meeting that the Toronto Port Authorities' jet proposal is amateurish and vague, yet we know from TPA's long-secret Environmental Assessment of the 2013 - 2015 jets proposal that the effects on the waterfront will be huge. Toronto Port Authority never submitted detailed plans of that proposal to the regulator. Everyone had to guess at the effects for two and a half years. The federal government eventually realized the proposal was nonsense, and quashed it in 2015.
This time, the City should be the adult in the room; it must keep trying to determine the impacts of jets on the waterfront and the city. No other level of government seems to think the details matter.
Save the Date for Speaker Series 24 "The Costs of Uncertainty: BBCA Expansion Proposal" (you know that vague 'plan' for jets at YTZ!)
We are pleased to announce that Ken Greenberg will be joining us as a special guest speaker. Ken is an urban designer, teacher, writer, former Director of Urban Design and Architecture for the City of Toronto, Principal of Greenberg Consultants, and a Member of the Order of Canada.
Click here to RSVP
Former "tiny perfect mayor", Conservative Federal Cabinet Minister and principal author of Regeneration, the foundational 1992 report of the Crombie Commission on the future of the Toronto Waterfront, had strong words about the Provincial Government's unilateral move to expand the Island Airport for jets yesterday. "That upends the shared vision that we all gathered around... We need to light a fire! This is a major issue, no fooling around! ... First of all and by far the most important, the federal government has a clear and legal and political responsibility to deal with the proposal coming forward, they can't fool around with simply: 'we need to talk about it'..."
David spoke at a Zoom meeting of the York Quay Neighbourhood Association (YQNA), a member organization of Waterfront for All" on May 12, 2026. Ed Hore emceed the meeting, and happened to record David's eloquent speech on his cell phone. The clip has now gone viral; it's been viewed thousands of times on social media.
Now on YouTube - Speaker Series 23: Parks & Housing ... or Jets. What are Toronto's Choices
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Video Recording: https://youtu.be/XPu-aq8BJ7g
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Featuring
- Josh Matlow, City Councillor, Toronto-St. Pauls
- Mark Wilson, former Chair of Waterfront Toronto
- AND, Jim Panou, Waterfront for All
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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.