ANALYSIS: Why won’t Carney’s Liberals take a side on Billy Bishop?

Ontario’s premier has made no secret of the fact that he wants a much bigger Billy Bishop Airport on Toronto’s waterfront. Doug Ford thinks bigger jets serving, in particular, the nearby business district, would be an economic boon for the province’s capital city. And he’s got lots of company urging him on, such as the Toronto Region Board of Trade.  

For most of her mayoralty, Olivia Chow has kept her criticism of the premier muted. But she’s made an exception with Ford’s airport expansion plans. Last week, she held a news conference urging the public to rise up against the provincial government’s unilateral (but legal) attempts to expropriate city land for an expanded airport.  

But there’s a third partner in the triumvirate that has responsibility for what’s happening on Toronto’s waterfront: the federal government. What do they have to say about Ford’s plans to expand the airport?  

At the moment, crickets. The most we’ve gotten is boilerplate statements from the office of Transport Minister Steven MacKinnon — and that was only after journalists asked specifically about the issue. To my request, the minister’s office said that “any future decisions concerning the operating environment of Billy Bishop Toronto City Airport will require the consensus of all signatories to the Tripartite Agreement.” 

Regardless of where you stand on this, you have to admit it’s passing strange that Mark Carney’s Liberal government, which currently holds 23 of Toronto’s 24 federal seats, hasn’t uttered a peep.  

The federal environment minister is Julie Dabrusin, whose riding, Toronto—Danforth, is bordered by Lake Ontario. In fact, the airport is right next door. Dabrusin’s ministry would be responsible for doing due diligence on a potential airport expansion. After all, there would be environmental factors to consider […] This is an excerpt. Read the full column at TVO.org.