TORONTO — The Ontario government plans to take control of city-owned lands at Billy Bishop Airport and designate the site as a special economic zone, Premier Doug Ford announced Monday.Speaking at a news conference at the airport, Ford said the province will introduce legislation to assume the City of Toronto’s role in the agreement governing airport operations and acquire municipal lands in exchange for compensation.The move would allow the province to proceed with a runway expansion to accommodate jet aircraft, along with upgrades to the terminal and improved access to Toronto’s waterfront, Ford said.“Our government will soon introduce legislation to take over the City of Toronto’s role in the tripartite agreement that governs the airport’s operations,” Ford said.As part of the plan, the government intends to designate the airport as a special economic zone, a classification that enables the province to accelerate development by overriding certain regulatory requirements.Ford said the designation would “streamline approvals while maintaining strong safety and environmental protections.”.The special economic zone framework was introduced by the province last year as part of broader efforts to accelerate major projects and stimulate economic growth.According to the government, expanding the airport could help reduce congestion at Toronto Pearson International Airport, increase competition among airlines and provide more travel options for passengers.The Toronto Port Authority estimates the airport could contribute up to $8.5 billion annually to Canada’s economy by 2050 and support as many as 23,000 construction jobs in Ontario.However, the proposal has drawn criticism from some local residents and environmental advocates, who have opposed previous efforts to introduce jet traffic at the island airport.Tim Gray, executive director of Environmental Defence, said the plan raises environmental and community concerns.“Expanding the runways are one. Obviously, there’s environmental impacts from that,” Gray said at a separate news conference at Queen's Park.Gray also pointed to potential conflicts with ongoing development in Toronto’s Port Lands, where new residential buildings are being constructed.“We’ve spent almost three decades re-engineering the Port Lands, and we’re just at the point now we can start actually building community down there, and a lot of the higher buildings will be right in the flight path of future jets,” he said.He added that residents should have input into decisions affecting the airport’s future.
