Great piece in the National Post today giving airline pioneer Robert Deluce his due:
Citizens of Toronto will recall that, in his successful run for mayor in 2003, David Miller made cancellation of a bridge to the city’s Island Airport (officially called Toronto City Centre Airport — TCCA), the hub for Deluce’s nascent airline, the centrepiece of his campaign. It was thought that the lack of a bridge to TCCA would present an extraordinary obstacle for Porter.
Instead, to the benefit of Toronto travelers and the chagrin of the misguided Mayor, Porter has thrived at its water-bound location (though you need to take a ferry to cross the 100-metre gap to TCCA) and stands as testament to the effectiveness of private enterprise.
Today, as Miller and his leftist city council grapple with a problem — tourism in Toronto is in sharp decline — that surprised no one but them, it can and should be said that Bob Deluce and Porter Airlines have done more to help bring tourists and businesspeople to Canada’s largest city than the Mayor and his entire socialist cabal combined.
Statues ought to be erected in this man's honour -- and someday, maybe they will.
