Port Authority greatest threat to Waterfront: Vaughan

Robin Careless –

There was a good deal of excitement for the future at the meeting of the  Bathurst Quay Neighborhood Association (BQNA) on June 19.

The first speaker was James Roche, the director of parks, design and construction for Waterfront Toronto. He was there to speak on the designs and re-invigoration of Bathurst Quay. As a piece of the larger tapestry of the waterfront that they have been weaving, Waterfront Toronto plans to expand pedestrian walkways and install a specialized bike path on the south side.

After James Roche spoke, the BQNA was treated to another speaker: Adam Vaughan. Vaughan served on city council for the last eight years. He resigned in May in order to run for the Trinity-Spadina seat for the federal Liberal party, but he was at the meeting not as a political candidate but as a former councillor and community member.

And as someone who has represented this community for two terms, Vaughan has faith in the future laid out by Waterfront Toronto.

“I think that Waterfront Toronto’s vision is the one to pursue,” says Vaughan,  “It’s the result of some very careful collaboration.  They have the lead, have the vision, and have the community support.”

“What’s missing is the next generation of funding. The most important thing the federal government can do on this issue is to step up and be the financial catalyst. It means getting the LRT to the eastern harbour. It means making housing—which is integral to building the waterfront—into a mixed dynamic community.”

However, the future of the waterfront is far from secure and Vaughan isn’t shy to identify the main problems he feels that the waterfront will face. “The biggest threat to the future of the waterfront is an unelected, unaccountable agency called the Port Authority.”

“We have got to rethink how we govern the waterfront. We need to revisit the tripartite agreement, not by reopening it, but by making the Port Authority an accountable entity, made up of the people who touch the water. Make sure the port functions, but also make sure the waterfront works for everyone who uses it.”

“The other thing that needs to be spoken to is to federally designate the bird sanctuary on the Toronto Island,” says Vaughan.

“Getting that put in place is incredibly important. It’ll define the environmental sensitivities of any expansions on the airport.. The Liberal party has advocated that the tripartite agreement as the right way to handle the waterfront, and that will be the end of the conversation on jets.”

The future of the waterfront looks bright in the hands of Waterfront Toronto. Looking forward, Vaughan puts it very simply: “The tripartite is the document that we should be reinforcing, not reforming. It won’t make everyone happy, but it will protect the waterfront that we all want.”