LILLEY: How Mark Carney turned Billy Bishop airport into an Alto problem
· Toronto Sun
No Billy Bishop , no Alto. For Ontario Progressive Conservatives, it’s really that simple.
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The provincial government isn’t just reconsidering its support for the federal government’s Alto high-speed rail project , it is ready to fight over it.
Months ago, Prime Minister Mark Carney had given assurances to Premier Doug Ford that he would support Ford’s plan to expand Billy Bishop Airport on Toronto’s waterfront. In exchange, Ford would keep his eastern Ontario MPPs quiet about the planned high-speed rail line from Quebec City to Toronto.
The line would cut through towns and farmland represented by PC MPPs and, to be blunt, it is deeply unpopular. Opposition to Alto throughout eastern Ontario is far more widespread than opposition to expanding Billy Bishop Airport in Toronto.
The difference is that the Carney Liberals don’t hold any of the seats where Alto is unpopular, but they do hold the seats where the airport expansion is unpopular and one of them is up for a byelection .
The deal behind the silence
Worried about possible turbulence in the Beaches-East York byelection, the Carney Liberals grounded the Billy Bishop expansion on Friday evening.
That news shocked and angered the Ford government. They thought they had a deal. Carney had assured Ford he would back an airport expansion Ford considers vital to Toronto’s economy.
“If this is how they’re going to treat bigger projects, I don’t think you’ll get much built,” Ontario’s Transportation Minister Prabmeet Sarkaria said on Tuesday.
Later that day, 11 MPPs representing ridings in eastern Ontario where Alto is a factor released a joint statement.
“Investments that strengthen Ontario’s economy, improve transportation and create jobs need to reflect the priorities and needs of rural communities, farmers, families and local businesses. Public confidence in major infrastructure projects depends on meaningful consultation. In the case of Alto, too many questions remain unanswered. Too many voices have been ignored,” they said.
It was the first meaningful criticism of Alto from members of Ford’s government. Until now, Ford had largely kept his caucus quiet by dangling the prospect of airport expansion.
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Ford’s caucus starts speaking out
Carney clearly either hasn’t been able to keep his caucus in check or he outright lied to Ford.
After the decision not to proceed with the airport expansion broke on Friday night, many members of the Toronto Liberal caucus took victory laps with statements online. They were celebrating the decision and even though federal Transport Minister Steven McKinnon said they would not proceed “at this stage,” it was taken as gospel that any expansion was dead in the water.
The Ford government has denied that the expansion has been completely stopped and said it plans to proceed.
The problem now is a political one purely of Carney’s making.
The Alto consequences
He’s quietly trying to assure the Ford government that the expansion can go ahead while signalling to voters in Beaches–East York that they have been heard and the expansion will not proceed. The NDP, the Liberals’ only serious rival in the byelection, said Carney is trying to have it both ways and will approve the expansion after the vote.
The other problem is that if he does try to revive the project, how does he manage a caucus that has been out in public celebrating the cancellation?
It’s clear the PM didn’t think this through ahead of time.
He also didn’t think about what would happen to his beloved Alto high-speed rail project if he backed out of the deal with Ford. It’s not clear how much power the province has to stop Alto. What is clear is that Ford and his caucus now have little incentive to help it succeed.