The city and Queen’s Park are fighting over the island airport

Toronto has officially begun its fight against Queen’s Park’s attempt to take over and expand Billy Bishop airport. The city launched an emergency motion on Thursday, the same day the province introduced legislation detailing its plans for expropriation. City hall now says it will explore its legal options to stop Ontario, calling on Ottawa to block what it calls a “land grab.”

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“This is what a power grab looks like,” Mayor Olivia Chow said during a city council session. “A province that doesn’t like the answer we gave from an elected council representing 3.2 million people, so it changes the rules and takes what it wants.” The mayor went on to add that the province has, as part of its expansion plans, proposed to take over the land that comprises the nearby Little Norway Park.

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The provincial legislation, called the Building Billy Bishop Airport Act, would allow Ontario to assume Toronto’s role in the tripartite agreement currently governing the airport, between the city, the federal government and the Toronto Port Authority. The bill would allow the province to take ownership of the city-owned lands at the airport in exchange for compensation. It has also identified city-owned parcels of land to support future airport expansion, including Little Norway Park.

“This legislation is the next step in our government’s work to unlock Billy Bishop Airport’s full potential and support its long-term modernization and expansion,” Ontario Minister of Transportation Prabmeet Sarkaria said in a statement. “As Ontario grows, expanding Billy Bishop will help meet rising travel demand, improve connectivity, support tourism and business travel, and create thousands of good-paying jobs.”