Toronto – With Toronto in the midst of a housing crisis, Councillor Josh Matlow is calling on the City to carefully examine how a proposed expansion of the flightpath at Billy Bishop Airport to accommodate jets could significantly limit future housing supply on Toronto’s waterfront.
Ahead of next week’s April 14th Planning and Housing Committee meeting, Councillor Matlow has submitted a motion requesting that City Planning staff study the prospective impact that introducing jets at Billy Bishop Airport would have on new housing development, particularly in key growth areas such as the Port Lands and other parts of the waterfront.
Every level of government agrees that we are facing a housing crisis. Before any decision is made that could permanently limit Toronto’s ability to build new homes, we need transparency. We cannot afford to close the door on thousands of future housing opportunities without fully understanding the consequences.
Jets require longer runways and expanded flightpaths, which in turn impose height restrictions on surrounding developments. In areas like the Port Lands where significant residential growth is planned this could mean substantial reductions in allowable height and density. Lower density would also reduce the amount of affordable housing that could be secured through inclusionary zoning and other housing policies.
At a time when Ontario is already falling behind its own housing targets, we should not make decisions that further constrain our ability to build. In 2022, Premier Doug Ford pledged to build 1.5 million homes over ten years. However, Ontario ended 2025 more than 100,000 homes behind its annual target, with similar shortfalls forecast for 2026 through 2028.
While the City might be cut out from this decision, we still have the responsibility to ensure residents have all relevant information. This motion simply asks for the transparent facts, Torontonians deserve to know whether approving jets at Billy Bishop means sacrificing desperately needed housing.
Four months after Doug Ford announced his intention to bring jets to Billy Bishop Airport, the Federal Government published a letter on July 24 stating they would not be supporting the project at this time.
And Carney’s Liberals made some important commitments: they will not pursue any plans that infringe on public spaces such as Little Norway Park or Hanlan’s Point Beach, result in elevated noise, have significant environmental impacts, or hinder Toronto’s ability to build much-needed new housing such as in planned neighbourhoods like Ookwemin Minising.
This was a big victory that was achieved by tens of thousands of Torontonians who made it clear that Doug Ford’s voice isn’t the only one that matters. However, while we celebrate this win, we must also read Ottawa’s letter with sober eyes. It wasn’t an announcement that an expansion will never happen — it was meant to set the grounds for a conversation. We must prepare for what’s next.