Gil Meslin

@gmeslin.bsky.social

I visited Biidaasige Park for the first time last weekend, and it’s an absolute home run. Best new Toronto park opened in my lifetime. Great river interface. Wetland greenery. Amazing playground. Trails. Bridges. Picnic areas. Quality materials. And a thousand skyline views.

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Aside from both being TPA, the Toronto Port Authority reminds me of the Toronto Parking Authority in that they are both self-funded arms-length agencies that completely lose sight of public interest and their host community in their single-minded pursuit of a business mandate.

Federal public consultations on Billy Bishop Airport have begun. You can fill out their survey (the questions in which seem to take a reverse onus approach, as though the expansion is a fait accompli, and you need to talk the Feds out of it) at the link below. tc.canada.ca/en/corporate...

Public consultation on the future of Billy Bishop Toronto City Airport

Consultation collecting feedback on the future of Billy Bishop Toronto City Airport

tc.canada.ca

I have so much appreciation for the generation of older appliances that one can open up and easily repair. In this case, an old dryer with a broken belt. Motor, belt, pulley, switch, timer. If there were a store that just sold ‘dumb’ appliances, I would 💯 shop there.

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My question was already answered by Christopher Holcroft a few weeks ago in the Hill Times. Nieuport (staff + consultants) met with the PMO 8 (updated since pub) times since last summer. MP Chi Nguyen (airport MP) had 7 meetings with Nieuport inc four in March. www.hilltimes.com/2026/05/14/t...

hilltimes.com

Shawn Micallef@shawnmicallef.bsky.social · 2mo ago

My question is: how much have Federal Liberal MPs, including the so-far mealy-mouthed Toronto Caucus, been lobbied by this group too?

I see the same dynamic on the Islands as at Science Centre and Ontario Place: public destinations, products of a brief window of 1960s largesse, allowed to wither slowly rather than stewarded properly, creating the opportunity for a bad faith Premier to say ‘it’s broken’, and plunge the knife.

Shawn Micallef@shawnmicallef.bsky.social · 2mo ago

It’s going to be a bad summer on the Toronto island. Access. Erosion. Airport threats. And leadership who will move mountains for FIFA but close a beach indefinitely. Here’s a gift link to column but consider subscribing as the real reporting costs real money. www.thestar.com/gift-redeem?...

Sadly, it's likely going to be a bad summer for the Toronto Island. There are the perpetual access issues, though the armada of private water taxis are a blessing, providing faster options. Taxis cost more, however, and represent a failure of state capacity, a self-inflicted wound by Toronto leaders who have done little but maintain a service not much different than what the city had a century ago, even though it is magnitudes larger.
The threat of airport expansion also hangs over the island this summer as that and the addition of jets would greatly affect delicate human and natural ecosystems and the quality of visitor experience. Especially on the western end, closest to the airport, where Hanlan's Point Beach has long been a refuge and special place for Toronto's LGBTQ community. Its future feels more precarious now and airport boosters seem to have little regard for the upwards of 1.5 million yearly island visitors.

The last time the Blue Jays were in the World Series, there was no CityPlace, no South Core, no Maple Leaf Square, no HTO Park, no WaveDecks, no Roundhouse Park, no aquarium, no Scotiabank Arena, no Well, and King West and the Entertainment District were still largely pre-condo.

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If you pass through Queen’s Park Station, take note of the fabrication dates on the exposed tunnel liners before they are tiled over. A cool detail that will soon be hidden once again. Below: 20•10•60 24•1•61 8•2•61

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