The pause in flights of Porter and Air Canada at the island airport has brought a lot of calmness to me and our Bathurst Quay neighbourhood.  A stark reminder came a few days ago when Porter had a Q400 idling an engine at the east end of its terminal building.   My wife and I have begun sitting and relaxing on our balcony overlooking Little Norway Park in the evening for the first time in 10 years.  What a wonderful experience that we have been missing.  I now realize that it is the constant high frequency whine of the engines that is so destructive.  It is the constant whine that upsets our nervous systems and is so insidious in the way it harms our well being.  I have noticed a calmness in myself when I am outside in the neighbourhood but also in the people living and playing here.  There are people relaxing, picnicking, and sunbathing on the lawns in Little Norway Park which never happened before with the constant sound of airplane engines.  Not having our nervous systems under constant attack will enhance our immune systems allowing us to ward off illness more easily.

Walking along the waterfront to Harbourfront Centre and west to Trillium Park I see how everybody is calmer.  The water is soothing but even more so when the constant high pitch whine of the airport is absent.

It is so clear now why this airport should be shut down.  Its so destructive to our health, and its not just because of the numbers that show up as decibels or particulate matter in the air, but the high pitch that emanates from it for two thirds of each and day.  The so-called economic benefits from the Island airport are never measured against the destruction it brings to all our individual lives who live here.

I know you would like to see the end of this airport.  I do not know how you would do it, but this may be one of those crises that we should not let go to waste.

On other matters, I know you are promoting co-ops and other affordable housing.  Arcadia co-op is a an alive and working affordable housing community.  One of the housing solutions for Canada seems to be staring us in the face when there is increasing homelessness.  I recently read this interesting article on how Finland is solving it to a greater extent than anyone else in the EU, essentially creating housing for the homeless.

https://getpocket.com/explore/item/it-s-a-miracle-helsinki-s-radical-solution-to-homelessness

Regards, Dennis Bryant