Sustainable Growth Will Flow from Don River Flood Protection

Waterfront_Toronto_Rendering_Don_River_Mouth_View_West_2017-06-28.jpg

Visionary government funding commitment will unlock climate-resilient growth in Toronto's Port Lands.

It's truly a historic moment for Toronto as all three levels of government join forces to flood-proof the Port Lands and naturalize the mouth of Don River. As the former chair of the Task Force to Bring Back the Don, I can assure you that this is no hyperbole.

The announcement by the federal, provincial, and municipal governments to fully fund the project will enable Toronto to surge forward with climate-resilient, sustainable growth. It's an example how cities, regions and nations can build consensus to meet the challenges of climate change and urban renewal together.

Canada, Ontario and Toronto are each committing one-third to the $1.25 billion cost of transforming the mouth of the Don River in central Toronto from a post-industrial flood-prone environmental disaster into expansive new waterways, wetlands, greenways and parklands that will protect existing homes and businesses and open the Port Lands for revitalization. The seven-year project will mitigate flood risk using ground-breaking naturalization techniques to will enable new, green developments like the East Harbour employment hub, a Metrolinx/Smart Track transit hub, and new mixed communities like Villiers Island in the Port Lands.

The Don Mouth Naturalization and Flood Protection project was approved through provincial and federal environmental assessments in 2015 led by Waterfront Toronto, Toronto & Region Conservation, and the City of Toronto. The process engaged thousands of residents, businesses, First Nations and community stakeholders throughout the region. Countless residents reviewed the plans, attended public meetings, petitioned their political representatives and took to social media to express their hopes and visions.

Special thanks go to Waterfront for All founding member CodeBlueTO. The community group mobilized supporters throughout the environmental assessment and protected the people's vision for the Port Lands from an ill-conceived push for Ferris wheels and shopping malls.

But there are many more organization that paved the way for this week's monumental development: The Task Force to Bring Back the Don, the West Don Lands Committee, the Waterfront Regeneration Trust and neighbourhood associations along Toronto’s waterfront - to name just a few.

The tri-level government funding clears the way for implementation of a vision that had its genesis in the 1992 report of the Royal Commission on the Future of Toronto’s Waterfront. The inspired leadership of Waterfront Toronto has developed that vision into the award-winning Lower Don Plan. I applaud the three governments for funding this transformative project.

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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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Ed Hore comments on the jet proposal to Planning and Housing Committee, City Hall, June 11, 2026

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 "The Cost of Uncertainty - Jets at Billy Bishop" Speaker Series 24

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.