Pickering airport now an election issue
Development of huge parcel of land could affect quality of life throughout the GTA, writes D’Arcy Jenish
When he holds one of his regular town halls to discuss issues of importance to constituents, AjaxPickering Liberal MP Mark Holland has taken to scheduling two sessions.
Recently, for instance, he announced meetings for Nov. 29 and Dec. 16. The former, held in Ajax, was to give constituents a chance to raise with him “ any federal concerns ( except the airport).” The latter, which will be held in Claremont despite the election, will be dedicated entirely to the Pickering Airport lands. The future of the airport lands is a hot button issue in Ajax- Pickering, ranking in importance with health care and surpassing in interest other concerns such as gun crime, taxes and the new deal for cities. And Holland expects the lands, as he calls them, will be a focus of discussion during the election campaign.
“ I have no doubt that they will be an issue,” he says, and so they should be. The federally owned airport lands, and the provincially owned central Pickering lands to the south of them should be of interest to voters throughout the Greater Toronto Area. Taken together, the two levels of government own almost 17,000 hectares, an area comparable in size to the old, pre- amalgamation City of Toronto, and future developments on these lands will impact the quality of life across the region.
It is no exaggeration to say that these two parcels are like a sleeping giant on the eastern flank of Metro Toronto. Almost no development has occurred there since the two levels of government expropriated all that land from private landowners in 1972 in order to build a second international airport for Toronto and a new city of some 200,000 people. As well, in recent years, the number of people residing on these lands has decreased sharply because government agencies have been pushing people out by refusing to renew the leases on their homes once they have expired. The result is that, by day, these federal and provincially owned lands are an island of tranquility that is more reminiscent of the 19th than the 21st century. You can walk or cycle for kilometre after kilometre on quiet country roads that are virtually free of traffic, as well as the noise and congestion of North America’s fifth largest urban area.
At night, these lands become an island of darkness surrounded by a sea of urban light that stretches from Bowmanville to Burlington and beyond. But the tranquility and the darkness won’t last. The governments have development plans that would turn these lands into a scaled-down Brampton east.
Transport Canada, which administers the federal lands, has asked the Greater Toronto Airports Authority to undertake the planning work required to approve a regional reliever airport. The decision on whether to proceed will be taken by 2009 and the airport could be in operation by 2012.
Meanwhile, in July 2005, the Ontario Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing released its Central Pickering Development plan that calls for the creation of 13 urban neighbourhoods with a population of 60,000 people and enough industry and commerce to create 13,000 jobs. The City of Pickering in July 2004 approved a growth management study that would allow for a population of 77,000 and an industrial- commer- cial corridor along Highway 407 that would provide work for 33,000.
Given the magnitude of the plans, it is scarcely surprising that citizens’ group have sprung up to oppose the governments. The objective of V. O. C. A. L., which stands for Voters Organized to Cancel the Airport Lands, needs no explanation. The Rouge Duffins Greenspace Coalition is an umbrella group representing a number of environmental groups opposed to the province’s plans for the central Pickering lands. The coalition is urging the two levels of government to protect in perpetuity 12,000 hectares as public green space and as an agricultural preserve in order to create a natural corridor linking Lake Ontario with the Oak Ridge Moraine. To date, the governments have agreed to set aside 6,500 acres, or about one- third of their holdings as agricultural preserve and green space. As for the balance, they appear dead set on development and are not considering alternatives. That is unfortunate because they are missing a grand opportunity to leave a priceless legacy for future generations.
It would take courage and vision, not to mention enormous political will, but imagine what could be created if they were to prohibit development in perpetuity on the entire 17,000 hectares. They could provide residents of the GTA with an enormous green space that would be the equal of Ottawa’s Gatineau Hills, Edmonton’s North Saskatchewan River Valley or Vancouver’s Stanley Park. Instead, it looks like we’re going to get Brampton East. D’Arcy Jenish s a freelance writer and author who lives in Ajax.