ISSUES

All airports create special safety problems and are major polluters, but the Toronto Island Airport is a looming disaster. The waterfront airport is within two kilometres of the commercial heart of the city. Hundreds of thousands of people live within a short distance and thousands more are coming to live in the condos that are being built along the waterfront, the railway lands and the central core of the city. The island airport dumps its pollution on more people than any other airport does in the country. The safety hazards from a combination of short runways and tall buildings are multiplying.

Community Air members demonstrating to stop the bridge in front of the Harbour Commissioner's building, the headquarters of the Toronto Port Authority.

If the island airport expansion is allowed to continue, the airport will play a major role in the destruction of a major natural habitat for wildlife in the city. A bird sanctuary exists less than one hundred metres from the longest airport runway. Several species of waterfowl make their homes along the shores. Fish abound in the waters. Turtles and frogs live in the island lagoons. Foxes, beavers, muskrats and raccoons are in abundance.

The greatest gifts to Torontonians from the generations before us are the quality of life of the residents and the natural habitat of the islands, the lake, the harbour and the waterfront. The island airport expansion is a threat to those gifts, and yet some politicians and parts of the business elite have encouraged airport expansion against the wishes of the majority of people of the city. Porter Airlines now flies six Q400 aircraft. It plans to have twenty of these planes in a very short time.

The articles in this section have been researched by members of CommunityAIR, and the facts checked for accuracy. We hope that after you read them you will agree with us that to protect our environment and our quality of life the island airport must be closed.