Mr. Speaker, Toronto needs control of its waterfront. Today a single federal institution stands between Toronto and the development of a vibrant and exciting waterfront, and that is the Toronto Port Authority.
The Toronto Port Authority was set up by the Liberal government against the wishes of the city of Toronto. It is unnecessary and worse than unnecessary, it undermines the work that needs to be done for Toronto's waterfront.
Without the port authority, the city would never have had to go through the fight that it did about the expansion of the Toronto Island Airport. Without the port authority the city would not have had to wait for the Liberals to actually pass a draft regulation to prohibit the building of a bridge to the Toronto Island Airport. That draft regulation was published shortly before the last federal election and still has not been enacted.
Perhaps the Prime Minister is waiting for another federal election in the vain hope that his party will win a majority and he can abandon this empty promise. Well, it is not going to happen. The power to decide the fate of Toronto's waterfront must be in the hands of the people of Toronto and the port authority must be abolished.