RUNNING OUT OF RUNWAY — Billy Bishop airport's owners are anxious. PortsToronto runs the airport that dominates the western side of Toronto's harbor islands, and its CEO is staring down construction timelines and federal regulatory requirements. Transport Canada has given the airport until 2027 to comply with new rules that will force the airport to buffer its runways with "runway end safety areas" — RESAs, in the jargon — meant to accommodate airplanes that overshoot or undershoot their landings. — Tick tock, tick tock: PortsToronto CEO RJ STEENSTRA told Playbook in a recent interview he needs to see shovels in the ground by April to hit Ottawa's compliance timeline. — Not so fast: We're talking about an island airport in Canada, where jurisdiction rarely sees an arrangement it can't make more complicated. In this case, the airport has been governed by a tripartite agreement since 1983. Hands up if the j-word has ever caught you in its federal-provincial-municipal crosshairs — a constitutional frustration older than Ottawa. The port authority, city and federal government hashed out the terms of the 50-year deal that expires in 2033. That agreement prohibits construction into the harbor. Steenstra and Co. say they need to fast-track an amended deal. The CEO tells Playbook conversations with his federal partners have been "very, very good" — including with Transport Minister PABLO RODRIGUEZ and his staff, as well as with senior bureaucrats. As for the city, where longtime island airport skeptic OLIVIA CHOW is mayor? Chow's spokesperson has said the mayor will comment after receiving a staff report this fall. Steenstra's take: "We're certainly very anxious, and continue to be anxious, to receive the feedback we need from city staff and council on a path forward." He later added: "I would like this to be top of mind and front and center and move faster." — Top of the food chain: The Privy Council Office briefed Prime Minister JUSTIN TRUDEAU on the negotiations in case they came up with Chow during a wide-ranging meeting last December. "I recognize that the expansion of Billy Bishop Airport is an important issue for Toronto," Trudeau was counseled to say. "The federal government is committed to working with the city and port authority to reach a new agreement by spring 2025." The memo from PCO's intergovernmental affairs team slightly misled the PM, explaining that federal rules require "extending the existing runway by building into Lake Ontario." This is a sore spot for Steenstra and his team, who insist their proposals do not extend the actual runway in order to, say, facilitate bigger airplanes. They're only building around it to enhance safety for existing planes. — Lightning rod: Expansion is a sensitive word around the Toronto Islands. PortsToronto has pushed for it before, but airport opponents are vocal, and they are legion. The critics are certain the runway safety measures are a Trojan horse for bigger and badder planes — and that Steenstra's squad senses opportunity. The Liberal government killed an expansion proposal shortly after taking office in 2015. PIERRE POILIEVRE has vowed to reverse that position if he wins power. — Shots fired: The Globe's ALEX BOZIKOVIC wants the airport bulldozed in favor of a massively expanded park. The architecture critic concedes the downtown hub "seems unstoppable," blaming its operators' momentum on a certain flavor of business crowd. "Surely the frequent flyers on Parliament Hill and in Queen’s Park are listening," he wrote. Here's looking at you, Ottawa fishbowl.
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