2026 year in review – the Bathurst Quay Neighbourhood Association

Bev Thorpe, BQNA Board of Directors Chairperson

We are only half way through 2026 but the BQNA has been busy working to help improve the quality of individual and community life in the Bathurst Quay neighbourhood. Here are the highlights.

1. 545 Lake Shore Temporary Shelter to close by September 30, 2026

In January we learned that the shelter lease at 545 Lake Shore would not be renewed and that shelter services will be wound down by September 30, 2026. This temporary shelter was established as a crisis-response measure in 2018. Over the intervening years residents attended many community liaison committees to give insights on the impacts to our neighbourhood and hear from Homes First, who ran the shelter, about their harm reduction and security planning for both shelter residents and the Bathurst Quay community. After repeated requests for clarity on the shelter’s future, Councillor Malik announced on January 24, 2026 that City staff are working with current shelter residents to ensure a smooth transition into permanent housing or other appropriate spaces together with comprehensive wrap-around supports. Clear deadlines for this transition are as follows:

• May 1: New admissions stopped.

• August 31: All shelter residents relocated.

• September 30: Lease ends; building returned to the owner.

Regarding encampments, as per last year’s designation of Little Norway Park as a 24-48-hour priority for rehousing, we continue to monitor for any new encampment and contact the City for their quick response. The future of 545 Lake Shore is unclear but BQNA will keep in close touch with the City and the owners on next steps.

2. Jets Proposed (again) at Billy Bishop City Airport along with the expropriation of Little Norway Park (new)

On March 12, Premier Doug Ford announced he would expropriate the airport lands to make way for jets, in the absence of any public consultation or meetings with the City. The BQNA responded with a Position Statement outlining four main reasons why we opposed jets on the island airport. These cited safety concerns due to the airport’s close proximity to our community and Canada’s largest downtown core, increased air and noise pollution plus the lack of democratic public consultation and absence of any environmental assessment or cost benefit study.

3. CBC The National video: Ultrafine particles are everywhere. Should you be worried?

On Apr 15, 2026, CBC’s The National aired a ten-minute feature about the BQNA’s Air Quality Study conducted by University of Toronto researchers. This project, initiated by Joan Prowse, Chair of the BQNA’s Air Quality Committee, was the result of her three years’ collaboration with the CBC film team to tell the story of the elevated ultrafine particle levels emanating from the airport and local health impacts that have been linked to UFP exposure. This put our community on the map and raised public awareness about ultrafine particles from combustion sources and airports.

4. BQNA testifies at Queens Park on Bill 110 Building Billy Bishop Airport Act

On April 21, I was interviewed by the Toronto Star for a walk around our neighbourhood about what airport expansion plans may mean for the people situated nearest to Billy Bishop airport (Related Toronto Star You Tube video).

A few days later on April 23, 2026 our community learned that the Provincial government had introduced Bill 110, the Building Billy Bishop Airport Act, 2026, which would expropriate Little Norway Park and most of the Toronto Islands for the airport expansion, as well as remove the City of Toronto from the Tripartite Agreement’s oversight of the island airport. At short notice, the following morning, we attended a major press conference at Little Norway Park with Mayor Olivia Chow who strongly condemned the province’s land grab from the City of Toronto. Many of us were interviewed about the impact of losing Little Norway Park for airport expansion plans.

As part of the public’s opportunity to comment on this Bill, as Chair of the BQNA, I gave oral testimony at Queens Park on May 19, 2026. I highlighted our concerns with the loss of Little Norway Park as City property and our worries about future air pollution studies. In particular I asked that if the Province expropriates Little Norway Park, will they be clearing future encampments; and who would respond to any future emergency such as when our community was evacuated due to a bomb scare at the airport on October 22, 2022. We can anticipate that this issue will continue to demand our involvement.

5. Community Emergency Response Handbook finally completed

At our public meeting on Dec 8, 2022 about the 2022 bomb scare, we documented the mayhem that ensued including how our community received no communication from the Toronto Port Authority and how we were eventually told by police to vacate the area, but many elderly and people with disabilities had nowhere to go. Transportation, washroom facilities or food were not made available even though the all-clear was not made until after midnight. This was a wake up call for us and a BQNA committee was formed to work with the Toronto Office of Emergency Management over many months. The result is, finally, a Community Response Handbook which we and the City are now in the process of distributing.

It has indeed been a busy year so far, and I thank our Executive Committee and Building Reps for their care, dedication and work. Please join us to build even bigger successes and solutions that improve the quality of individual and community life in the Bathurst Quay neighbourhood.

These and other events are listed on our website and we encourage everyone to sign up for our newsletter and join one of our many committees to help make our community an enjoyable and safe place to live.

BQNA financial snapshot as at 27-May-2026

BQNA executive

Beverley Thorpe, Chairperson

Jacqueline McLaughlin, Vice-Chairperson

Brian Gottheil, Secretary

Ingrid van der Zande, Treasurer and Digital Designer

BQNA Board members by building

Arcadia Co-op: Joan Prowse (rep) and Hannah Sherrett (alternate)

679 Queens Quay West: Jacqueline McLaughlin (rep)

Windward Co-op: Ash Legesse (rep) and Corrie Galloway (alternate)

King’s Landing: Lesley Monette (rep)

Quay West: Diane Jameson (rep)

Harbourside Co-op: Colleen Day (rep) and Sacha Michna (alternate)

Harbour Channel Co-op: Todd Hollingsworth

Atrium on Queens Quay: Beverley Thorpe (rep)

Tip Top Lofts: Ingrid van der Zande (rep)

South Beach Marina: Brian Gottheil (rep) and Carolyn Sealfon (alternate)

25 Bishop Tutu: Jacqueline McLaughlin

500 Queens Quay west: rep positions open

550 Queens Quay west: rep positions open

Queens Harbour – 600 Queens Quay west: rep positions open

BQNA committees:

Air Quality

Health and Safety

Noise

BQNA liaison committees:

Billy Bishop Airport CLC

Billy Bishop Airport CLC Noise Subcommittee

City of Toronto – Toronto Island Park Plan

545 Lakeshore Shelter CLC

Toronto Emergency Measures Taskforce

Homelessness Taskforce