The Toronto Port Authority scrambled to understand Porter Airlines’ “surprise announcement” in April 2013 that proposed jets fly from Toronto’s island airport.

In the weeks and months following the announcement, the Porter proposal was top of mind for the port authority, according to minutes of the port authority’s board of directors meetings, obtained by The Star through an Access to Information request.

The documents paint a limited picture of the issues and concerns from Porter Airlines plan to operate Bombardier CSeries jets, which would require the lifting of a jet ban, and a runway extension, initially proposed at 168 metres at each end, and then revised to 200 metres at each end.

The Star filed a request last July asking for all emails, correspondence, memos, and reports related to Porter Airlines’ expansion plans, but when the documents were finally released last week, only heavily redacted Port Authority board meeting minutes, and president and CEO Geoff Wilson’s reports to the board were released.

The Port Authority indicated only items deemed responsive to the request were released. Any information unrelated to the Porter proposal was redacted, said Deborah Wilson, vice-president of communications, in an interview.

The Star has appealed to the Information Commissioner of Canada, arguing that few documents were deemed responsive, in what was clearly one of the biggest files for the Port Authority in the last year.

“The chief item of the past month was of course Porter Airlines’ surprise announcement on April 10 of their vision to expand their current service offering with the purchase of CS100 Bombardier jets for use” at Billy Bishop Toronto City Airport (BBTCA), said Geoff Wilson in his April 29, 2013 report to the board.

“Management have been digesting this news and seeking to better understand the Porter plans and the requirements on the airport to accept such aircraft into operation,” he added in the report.

Wilson goes on to say that the decision to have the Port Authority further consider the Porter request will come from the city—and only after city council has deliberated and voted on the issue.

But nearly a year after Porter Airlines CEO Robert Deluce first made his announcement about the airline’s conditional order for 12 jets, Toronto city council voted in April to defer any final decision on whether jets should be permitted and a possible runway extension until 2015, long after the October municipal election.

In the meantime, the Port Authority, which operates the airport, is working on developing an airport master plan, and has put out requests for proposal for the runway design and environment assessment.

When asked about the use of the term “surprise announcement” in the documents, the port authority’s Deborah Wilson said in an interview this week that Porter made a telephone call to board chair Mark McQueen a few days before the announcement.

“It was not too long in advance,” she said in an interview. “We weren’t consulted at any other point prior to that. As you know, Porter is a private organization. We are not privy to their business dealings.”

She added while the parties have a commercial carrier agreement, Porter is under “no obligation to bring us into the loop on new business development or any business strategy they are endeavouring to take on.”

Porter Airlines spokesman Brad Cicero confirmed Deluce made the courtesy briefing call, but said in an email that “the information given at that time was high level, with the understanding that more extensive discussions would need to take place.”

The board of directors met one day before Porter Airlines’ April 10 announcement of its jet order, and according to the minutes, it stated “the board was not invited to attend the press conference.”

However, Cicero said Port Authority officials were invited but chose not to attend.

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Deborah Wilson acknowledged the invitation was extended, but said officials didn’t attend because the Port Authority didn’t have all the details and hadn’t had a chance to do its own due diligence.

Wilson added the decision was made to refrain from attending, “so as not to be seen as supporting something that we actually had no information on.”

In his April 29 report to the board, Port Authority CEO Geoff Wilson noted that city staff had been in touch with management, and request for Port Authority support on a city-led study and assessment was expected.

“Management departments of engineering, communications and other senior BBTCA and TPA staff are primed and expected to be on full task over the next 90 days,” he added.

As well, the minutes of that meeting also pointed out Bombardier officials would brief port authority officials on the CSeries jet the following day.

In a report on May 27, Geoff Wilson noted port authority officials will work with city officials, and added the port authority would foot the cost of the studies that could reach and exceed $1 million. (In the end, the bill totaled $1.12 million).

As well, Geoff Wilson said port authority management “are conducting their own internal assessment of the viability of the Porter expansion plan.”

In the report, he added issues include construction methodology, timing, stakeholder issues, regulatory compliance, and cost.

When asked for results of the viability study, Deborah Wilson said in an interview that it was a commitment to fund reports undertaken by city officials that included the hiring of external consultants.

She said the port authority’s position on the Porter proposal has been for the city to decide first, and then “at that point we would pick up the gauntlet and make sure certain things were in place,” such as environment assessments, and access for the boating and general aviation community, and traffic concerns near the airport.

“Until the TPA has the answers it needs we will neither support nor oppose the proposal,” Deborah Wilson added.