NDP: $5 billion Billy Bishop plan doesn’t add up

QUEEN’S PARK — Ontario NDP MPP Chris Glover (Spadina—Fort York) and Shadow Finance Minister Jessica Bell (University—Rosedale) say that committee hearings on Doug Ford’s plan to expand Billy Bishop Airport have shown the senseless nature of the Conservatives’ latest scheme:

“There is no business case to expand Billy Bishop,” said Glover. “The Minister of Transportation — despite being asked repeatedly — is still unable to explain why he believes this would generate $8.5 billion in economic revenue. The only thing it’s sure to generate is more traffic congestion downtown.

“The Toronto Port Authority revealed that it would cost $5 billion to expand Billy Bishop airport to accommodate eight million more passengers. This is a complete waste of money when Pearson is currently investing $3 billion to accommodate an additional 23 million passengers.

"Prime Minister Mark Carney and his Toronto MPs have tried to take a backseat on this issue, but they can’t sit on the fence any longer. The people of Toronto deserve to know where they stand. The Federal Liberals must listen to their constituents, who are loudly rejecting this move, and kill the Premier’s asinine plan that would destroy the waterfront Torontonians love and waste five billion taxpayer dollars.”

“Doug Ford’s plan for Billy Bishop makes no financial sense,” said Bell. “The Toronto Port Authority confirmed in yesterday’s hearings that this project could cost up to $5 billion. The airport expansion is likely not economically viable without a massive government handout.

“We also learned that both the Ford and the Carney governments are in secret closed-door conversations with the Port Authority over the Billy Bishop airport expansion, and the rest of us are in the dark, including the City of Toronto. Toronto residents don't want this airport expansion, and the people in charge know it. That's why they're not telling us about what's in store for us.”