[URBAN NOTE] "Adam Vaughan Declares Island Airport Expansion “Dead”"

[rfmcdonald]

Whether it was Adam Vaughan or Olivia Chow who got elected in Spadina-Fort York, if the Liberals and/or the NDP formed a government the Toronto islands' airport was not going to expand. This seems to be what will happen.

With a Liberal majority, Adam Vaughan may finally stop the Billy Bishop Island Airport expansion.

The Spadina–Fort York member of parliament will likely play a key role in the incoming government, and stopping the expansion is a top local issue. Porter Airlines wants to expand the airport runway in order to begin flying jets out of the downtown airport. The current terms and conditions governing the airport prohibit jets, and changing those rules requires the City, PortsToronto (formerly the Toronto Port Authority), and the federal government to agree to open up the tri-partite agreement.

That seems much less likely now.

Adam Vaughan told the Toronto Star that the push for the Island Airport is “dead” with a Liberal government, a sentiment echoed by local councillor Joe Cressy (Ward 20, Trinity-Spadina), who once ran against Vaughan in a by-election for the federal seat.