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TORONTO \u2014 Ontario will declare Toronto\u2019s island airport the province\u2019s first special economic zone as it moves to take over land owned by the city, Premier Doug Ford said Monday.<\/p>\n
This is the latest move by the Ford government to push expansion of Billy Bishop Toronto City Airport to include jets.<\/p>\n
Ford said the \u201clefties\u201d at city hall are in the way of expanding the island airport, which he called a \u201ccrown jewel for economic growth.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is long overdue, and this is the exact reason we\u2019re doing it,\u201d Ford said. \u201cThey don\u2019t want to create more jobs. They don\u2019t want to create economic development, they don\u2019t want to create a competitive environment and convenience for the people of Toronto.\u201d<\/p>\n
Ford said the province will take over the City of Toronto\u2019s spot in the tripartite agreement that governs the land. That agreement is currently between the city, the federal government and the Toronto Port Authority, which is a federal agency.<\/p>\n
Ford said the province will provide \u201cfair compensation\u201d to the city for the transaction and for operating costs.<\/p>\n
This is the first time the Ford government has declared a special economic zone in the province. \u00a0<\/p>\n
The government passed Bill 5 last year, which included the controversial special economic zone provision that allows the province to suspend provincial and municipal laws for a given project.<\/p>\n
Ford said last year he intended to declare the Ring of Fire, the proposed mining region in northern Ontario, a special economic zone.<\/p>\n
Documents unearthed through freedom-of-information laws from Energy and Mines Minister Stephen Lecce\u2019s office showed the province originally intended to make the Ring of Fire the first such zone.<\/p>\n
But significant protests from the vast majority of First Nations, who were deeply opposed to the new law and saw it as a trampling of their treaty rights, caused the Ford government to pause.<\/p>\n
A few weeks ago, Ford said he didn\u2019t need a special economic zone in the region after the province came to agreements with a few First Nations and the federal government to move ahead with building a road to the Ring of Fire. The proposed road that is set to begin construction this year will also connect several remote fly-in First Nations to the provincial highway system.<\/p>\n
But the Billy Bishop airport designation is different, Ford said, because of city council.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey don\u2019t want to build anything, nothing, leave the airport, let\u2019s be last place in everything,\u201d Ford said. \u201cThat is the mentality of the left.\u201d<\/p>\n
Ford did not say which laws he intends to suspend, but said the province takes environmental issues \u201cseriously.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cSo we\u2019re going to use all cautions, but we\u2019re gonna move forward,\u201d Ford said.<\/p>\n
\u201cLast time I checked out there, that\u2019s a pretty big lake, and a few thousand feet aren\u2019t gonna disturb too many things.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u00a92026 The Canadian Press<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n