By Pepper Parr
April 24, 2014
BURLINGTON, ON.
It will not be news to our regular readers that we are involved with a potential lawsuit with the Air Park Inc. They have taken the position that the Gazette libeled them in a number of articles we wrote recently. We don’t believe we did any such thing.
The Gazette has covered this issue since June, 2013 when an Appleby Line resident alerted us to the number of trucks taking landfill onto the Air Park property.
We have recorded and reported as well as we could the various stages this situation has gone through from the point at which the Air Park said they were federally regulated and did not have to heed municipal bylaws through to the court case which resulted a decision from Justice John Murray that said the Air Park was required to comply with municipal by laws.
When a corporation or an individual for that matter is ‘under the gun’ they begin to focus on the public perception of what they are doing. There was a time when Vince Rossi had very little time, if any, for senior people at city hall. “We got ‘the finger’ frequently” was the way one senior city hall bureaucrat put it.
With an appeal due to be heard in less than a month Mr. Rossi has begun to work on his image.
We recently saw a piece he wrote in the Spectator, which we have set out below.
By Vince Rossi
As the owner of the Burlington Executive Airpark, I am proud of our long and accomplished history in Halton Region.
Vince Rossi, president of the Burlington Executive Air Park and believed to be the sole shareholder of the private company, met with north Burlington residents. He took all the comments made “under advisement”. Councillor Craven wanted to know why he was such a lousy neighbour.
The airpark opened in 1962. Since that time, it has served as a flight training centre, an aircraft maintenance base, a recreational flying facility and a key transportation hub for Halton residents and businesses.
Thousands of pilots have received their training at Burlington Airpark, many of whom are now airline pilots who safely transport thousands of Canadians every day. The training and maintenance facilities, along with the charter services, are independently owned and provide skilled employment opportunities for our community. In addition, there are jobs for those who provide services to the airpark and the businesses located there.
Many leading companies, including Ford Motor Company, Mercedes-Benz Canada, Evertz Microsystems and L-3 Communications, use the airpark for the transportation of people and key materials.
… every test of neighbouring streams and wells has met or surpassed federal and provincial environmental standards.
The airpark is also used for patient transfers and organ donation flights, given its proximity to medical institutions that serve Burlington, Milton, Oakville, Mississauga and Hamilton.
Ontario’s air ambulance service uses special facilities installed at the airpark for advanced training.
The airpark is also used for law enforcement, search and rescue, military and ambulance flights.
Finally, the airpark is home to a thriving recreational aviation community. It is the host of community service events such as educational flights for school groups, the semi-annual Big Brothers Big Sisters Airlift and serves as a partner and rest stop in the PwC Epic Tour Halton, a regional biking event.
There is a shortage of smaller general aviation airports in southern Ontario with reasonable proximity to cities. The airpark is a unique and essential asset for Halton Region.
But we want to improve and do more.
I purchased the airpark from the Kovachik family in 2006, having done my own flight training here.
Since then, I have invested more than $4 million in infrastructure improvements. I have not received financial assistance from any level of government. This has included widening and improving both runways, adding taxiways, improving the refuelling facilities and building additional hangars.
We have always been open about our plans and goals to improve the airpark. Over the years, we have posted plans on our website and we have held a yearly reception as well several open houses and barbecues that have been attended by neighbours, airpark users and politicians of every level. At these events, we have shown our improvements and plans for the future.
Our efforts to improve the airpark were halted in July of last year, after complaints were raised by a few of our neighbours, some of whom had only recently purchased their homes. They made unsubstantiated claims that the fill being imported to level the remaining airpark lands was waste, which, of course, it was not.
The situation then became political. City of Burlington councillors repeated the unsubstantiated rumours of contamination. The City of Burlington, citing its site-alteration bylaw, took steps to stop the improvements. Despite the fact the airpark is federally regulated, we met with the councillors, city officials and our neighbours to try to address everyone’s concerns reasonably. Notwithstanding, the mayor of Burlington publicly vowed to take whatever steps the city could to stop the infilling.
To be clear, every test of neighbouring streams and wells has met or surpassed federal and provincial environmental standards. There have been six inspections, studies and/or tests carried out since 2009. None have indicated a problem with the fill or an adverse impact on local water. Further, after discussions with the Ontario Ministry of the Environment, the airpark is in the process of voluntarily completing the most comprehensive study to date by carrying out a test well program.
Sadly, we and the city are spending time and money in court to find out whether the city is entitled to control improvements at the airpark. During the past 60 years, courts across this country have held that the federal government has exclusive jurisdiction over the location, design and materials used to build and improve airports. There are more than 1,400 airports across Canada. It would be chaos if each one was subjected to different municipal standards, which is what the courts have consistently held. We hope for a resolution in June.
Airpark dumped more than 30 feet of landfill without a Site Plan. Owner of the adjacent property stands on her property line and wonders why anyone can build a “small mountain” next to her property without getting approval. She wonders where the respect for her property rights is in all this.
I’ve always respected our neighbours and the City of Burlington and was hopeful that we could have reached a compromise that protected and enhanced the interests of all parties.
In the meantime, the Burlington Executive Airpark will continue to serve the interests of our community, and our region. We’re here for the long term and look forward to moving forward with our neighbours.
Vince Rossi is the owner of Burlington Airpark Inc.
Before the “I have always respected …” paragraph, Rossi has added the sentence: “I am saddened the situation has come to this” and after the paragraph he added the words: “I’m an optimist. I still believe it can happen.”
It is this changing the record and adding comments to suit his purposes that have resulted in the very deep mistrust between Vince Rossi and his neighbours. This distrust has been evident from the very first delegation at city council when lawyer Glen Grenier was speaking and ward 1 Councillor Rick Craven asked: “Why is your client such a lousy neighbour?’
The relationship between the city and the Air Park didn’t get any better for some time. It appears that the Justice Murray decision and the pending appeal have persuaded Mr. Rossi to begin talking in terms of “a compromise that protects and enhances the interests of all parties.”
Many people in rural Burlington feel it is a little too late for that. They want the landfill out and tomorrow won’t be soon enough. Justice Murray said what north Burlington residents wanted to hear: “This court has determined that the by-law is valid and binding on Burlington Air Park Inc. The issue of enforcement is left to the municipal authorities.
One observant reader passed along information on the Air Park web site and described it as “highly selective and manipulated information”. That is where we came across the different version of the piece that appeared in the Spectator. Any detail of the Justice Murray decision is hard to fond on the Air Park website.
Background links:
This battle has been going on since June of 2013
One of the most critical pieces of evidence in the Rossi defense would be a comprehensive pre-condition site environmental assessment report; necessary to set a baseline prior to the fill activities. A smart guy like Rossi would have done that to gain any liability and indemnity protections required by engaging in such a major site alteration project.
The test results specific to the fill soil is another matter.
The source of the fill is another matter.
The payment for acceptance of the fill is another matter.
The damage caused to adjoining property owners is another matter.
The significant loss of life is another matter.
The conduct of the local Councilor Lancaster is another matter.
Who will ultimately have title to the airpark or just the fill area is another matter. The City or the Province? The feds will have nothing to do with this.
Where is our fearless Mike Wallace, our hometown federal representative? Where is he?
Who knows what lays beneath the fill soil after all those years of airplane maintenance and airport uses. How many fuel tanks, oil tanks, old airplane parts, tires, garbage, etc. lays beneath the ground? Or, other illegal fill and dumping activity that may have occurred during the last 50+ years. Prior to recent environmental protection legislation, it was common practice for illegal dumping activities to take place in remote rural areas.
So, in addition to the pre-fill condition environmental assessment of the site, archeological testing, first nations consultations, and all the other governance approvals and site alteration compliance processes, what else has Rossi missed?
The answer is Rossi trying to set the stage for demonstrating that a claim for libel is just; tell that story to the fish Rossi!
No legitimate corporate citizen comes out bragging about how great and responsible and economically and socially beneficial they are on one side of their face, and on the other side of their face start filling their defense with accusations of libel and mistreatment to deflect the factual realities associated with what has clearly been proven to be an actionable scenario.
Mr. Wonderful is watching this situation with great interest and will always be here to help. Tonight will be fish and chips for supper.
The airdump falls into MP Lisa Raitt’s territory – not Mike Wallace’s.
I believe Ms. Raitt has recused herself from representing her constituents in this matter, due to a perceived and confusing conflict of interest.
The conflict may be either that she can’t lobby to herself (as the Minister of Transportation) or that she’s loyal to Rossi. To the latter point, a photograph of her socializing with Rossi is prominently displayed on his website – and it’s been there for years.
My understanding is that since Justice Murray’s ruling, Rossi must comply with the City’s by-laws that do not infringe on the actual aeronautical operation of the Airpark, and that the ruling is legal and binding until it is reversed (unlikely) in the upcoming Appeal hearing on June 11th.
Yet, as recently as December 2013, Rossi again ‘gave the finger’ to the City – in that he has refused to comply with the mutiple directions submitted to him by the City’s solicitor, Ian Blue, as detailed in Update # 7 on the City’s website.
Well Mr. Rossi, so much for your being ‘sad’ and wanting to move forward in a manner that respects your neighbors, let alone being a law-abiding citizen. Once again, you prove that you (and your words) cannot be trusted.