BUT!
As expected, the nay-sayers didn’t waste any time coming out of the woodwork.
Let’s look at them one at a time.
- First of all, THE ISLAND RESIDENTS are against it!
NO KIDDING? I don’t know why there are still people living on the Eastern Islands, (Algonquin and Wards) but as far as they are concerned nobody but THEM should even be ALLOWED to step foot on any of the Toronto Islands.
- Second, some of the condo owners on the lakeshore are against it!
Yes they are, boys and girls! We here at the Perspective Research Department have done an exhaustive survey of the 21, 682 lakeside residents and found that most of them enjoyed watching the planes take off and land, but 8 residents complained that the planes ruined their view of the water!
-Third, they drew up a petition and 16,000 people signed it.
Yup, out of a city of two and a half million, one half of one percent of those people in such places as Scarborough, Etobicoke, Eglinton West, Riverdale, Summerhill and all sorts of other places around the city were worried about their view as well!
But, they did claim another undocumented 500,000 people didn’t like it ……………………………. and that works out to four percent of the people in the entire province.
That’s right kids,a few people in Oshawa didn’t want an expanded Toronto Island Airport.
A few people in Orillia didn’t want an expanded Toronto Island airport.
A handful of people in Braantford were dead set against an Island airport expansion.
A few people in St. Catherine’s didn’t want an expanded Island airport!
(The list goes on)
Oh, and my buddy Rob Ford sent me another letter kids!
(Since we looked at opposition to the airport, we might as well have a look at the Casino thing as well!)


Dear Allan
Earlier this week, the City Manager released a report on a convention and gaming complex in Toronto. In response I asked the City Clerk to call a special meeting of my Executive Committee for April 15th and 16th. 
Currently, the City of Toronto is ranked 33rd in North America as a convention destination. However, Toronto is the 4th largest city on the continent. There is no reason why we should not be in the top 10 for places people want to hold a convention. What we need is a new, larger, full-service convention facility. 
We have been presented with an opportunity to help achieve that goal at minimum cost by considering a convention and gaming complex proposal. 
Toronto has an unemployment rate that is above the national average and above the regional level. A new convention centre and gaming complex would create 10,000 jobs at an average salary of $55,000. It would also create an additional 7,000 to 11,000 construction jobs. 
This is good news for Toronto and Ontario because more people will be working, paying income taxes and buying goods and services from Toronto businesses. 
Over 130,000 new visitors would come to Toronto each year with a new destination convention centre. This would generate $392 million in direct spending and inject $1.2 billion in Toronto and Ontario’s GDP.
The proposal that we have in front of us at Executive Committee next week gives us the blueprint we need to tell the province what we expect. It will let us say here is the deal that Toronto wants and expects.
The City Manager has provided us with the information we need to make decisions based on fact – not on emotion or political rhetoric. 
It is not a question of saying “yes” or “no” to gambling. The fact is, gaming already exists in Toronto. Residents can currently go to Woodbine to play one of 2,500 slot machines or to their corner store to buy a lotto ticket. They can go to an off-track betting facility or simply log-in to an Internet gaming site.
The fact is, if a new casino is not built in Toronto, it will be built right on our border. If that happens, Toronto will get none of the benefits from a casino and we will have no say in its operations.
If you want to your voice to be heard on this issue, I encourage you to send an email to exc@toronto.ca and ask the City Clerk to share your email with the Committee.
Remember to tune into NEWSTALK 1010 for the City with Councillor Ford and I at 1:00 p.m.
Yours truly,
Mayor Rob Ford 


(I have to admit that the letter actually said “Dear Friends,”  but since I’m obviously a friends of his, I just put my own name in the title!)
Your ‘ever humble’ reporter:
Allan W Janssen