The Toronto Police Services Board has rejected a proposal by the Toronto Port Authority to use private armed constables at the island airport.
Citing the "enhanced liability" and "risk inherent" in letting private armed security guards look after the airport, the board told port authority executives they'll have to work out an agreement with Toronto police and report back on negotiations in June.
The port wants travellers at Billy Bishop Toronto City Airport to have the convenience of clearing U.S. customs before they board a plane, but U.S. regulations require that the area be staffed full-time with armed officers to protect customs officials.
At issue is money.
The Toronto police marine unit estimates the cost of staffing the airport with 16 Toronto police constables and six sergeants at $2.9 million, port chairman Mark McQueen wrote in a letter to the board. A further $1 million would be needed to build offices.
The private-sector proposal recommends only seven full-time equivalent officers and two supervisors, at a cost of less than $800,000.
"As every incremental airport operating cost is eventually paid by passengers in the form of additional fees (neither the TPA nor the BBTCA receive any Federal operating funding or financial backstop), we have been meticulous in the analysis of the financial impact of the choices before us," writes McQueen.
Police Chief Bill Blair told the board he was unaware of the marine unit's staffing proposal and that he hadn't been consulted.
Whether the Toronto force can provide the policing as cost-effectively as the private, armed, special constables is yet to be seen.
"I think we ought to let this process continue and then we can talk about it," port president and CEO Geoffrey Wilson said at the board meeting.
Another issue is that for 60 years the port authority's predecessor had its own armed police force - the Toronto Harbour Police and the Port of Toronto Police - which secured the water and the port lands. They merged with the Metro police force in the early '80s, with the understanding that from then on the port would be provided with security - including the airport site - for free, writes McQueen.
The city solicitor dug out the old agreement so that it could be factored in during future negotiations.
The airport is the nation's ninth busiest and is expected to attract more than two million passengers this year.
"As you may know, the (Toronto Port Authority) could legally engage private sector armed guards if it ran a jewelry store, rather than an airport," McQueen wrote. "The Statutes do not, however, allow entities like the TPA to hire armed private protection for travellers in an international airport."
He goes on to say the United States will withhold final approval without the armed officers, even if the area itself is approved for a U.S. customs facility.
At Pearson International Airport, Peel Region police secure the U.S. customs areas in Terminals 1 and 3, with the cost borne by the Greater Toronto Airports Authority. An authority spokesperson said Pearson doesn't get any federal money for operating costs.
Blair originally recommended the board turn down the request in January, but the decision was delayed to give police board chair Alok Mukherjee time to consult the province.
In response, both Madeleine Meilleur, the minister of community safety and corrections, and Daniel Hefkey, commissioner of community safety, said they preferred the Pearson model. They also noted that "special constables can't perform the usual duties of a police officer on a permanent basis," according to the Police Services Act.
In Ontario, only the Niagara Parks Police Service has armed special constables, a throwback to the time when the service policed the border.
McQueen notes they are armed and have the same training and authority as a local municipal officer. "In the TPA's case, we are looking to further secure Canada's 9th busiest airport, which is just steps from Canada's financial core," he writes. "No different than the mandate of the NPPS, in a way, but for the higher risk of terrorism."
Copyright 2013 Toronto Star Newspapers Limited
