Barbara Hall must be feeling the heat on the island airport issue.

She has a release on the front page of her website entitled "Where Barbara Hall REALLY stands on the Toronto Island Airport". In it she outlines her public stance on the airport that she hopes will let her skate through the minefield that her own position on this issue has become.

In it, she says essentially the same thing that she said at the Waterfront Debate I attended. Her website reads:

Does Barbara Hall support the Toronto Island Airport expansion? NO

Barbara Hall is 100 per cent opposed to jets.
She is 100 per cent opposed to expanding the runways.
She will not increase the cap on the number of flights.

I guess it all comes down to how you define "the Toronto Island Airport expansion". If you define it as making the runways longer, Hall is opposed. But if you define it as dramatically increasing the number of flights and passengers, and possibly building a new, larger terminal to accommodate a new airline, then the evidence points to Hall being in favour.

This is why Barbara Hall has earned the support of the CAW and the local that is responsible for building the turboprops that the new airline hopes to use when it expands service from the island.

Here is an excerpt of a letter to the Toronto Star's editor from Bob Hamilton, Hall supporter and CAW Local 112 Plant Chair:

Jack Lakey's column on how trade unions are lining up behind mayoral candidates does not go deep enough; at least in reference to the CAW's support for Barbara Hall.

Hall, the front-runner, had no problem aligning herself with the plight of the workers at Bombardier/de Havilland in Downsview. Her coming out early in supporting the Island Airport expansion paved the way for a large order of turboprops to be built right here in Toronto.

[emphasis mine]

So, if may be true that Barbara Hall is presently opposed to jets and lengthening runways. However, it sure sounds like her support for the bridge is tied to expansion in the sense of more planes and more traffic. The answer to the question "Does Barbara Hall support the Toronto Island Airport expansion?" would seem to be YES.

DISCLOSURE: After a serious decision-making process, I joined the Miller-for-mayor campaign a couple weeks ago. However, all comments on this website are my own, and do not necessarily represent the views of David Miller or his campaign.

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