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Julie Dzerowicz Member of Parliament
Davenport

Davenport Friends and Neighbours / Amis et Voisins de Davenport,

What a night. No matter where we come from, all 41 million of us were cheering for Team Canada, and last night, in Vancouver, they pulled through with a historic 6-0 win over Qatar, our country’s first-ever victory at a men’s World Cup. Jonathan David’s hat-trick had the whole country on its feet. Team Canada, we could not be prouder of you. Congratulations!

On a personal note, the House of Commons has now risen for the summer, and I am elated to be back home in Davenport for the next ten weeks or so. I will be out and about across the community all summer long, and there is nothing I love more. If there is an event, festival, or street or backyard gathering you would like me to attend, please reach out to my office. I would be delighted to come by.

Now to the news. There are two pieces of work in Ottawa I especially want you to know about.

1. Tough on Crime.

The first is a brand-new privacy law. My colleague the Honourable Evan Solomon, Minister of Artificial Intelligence and Digital Innovation, has introduced Bill C-36, the Protecting Privacy and Consumer Data Act. Our current privacy law is more than 25 years old, written before smartphones, social media, and AI were part of daily life, and this bill brings our online protections into the modern age.

    It does several important things:

    1. It makes privacy a fundamental right. It treats our children’s personal information with the same care as health records or fingerprints. 
    2. It gives every Canadian a “delete button,” the right to ask a company to delete the personal information it holds about you, which is also a powerful tool against deepfakes. 
    3. It creates a strong new watchdog, the Digital Safety and Data Protection Commission, with real authority to investigate companies and hand out serious penalties. That new agency will take aim at “surveillance pricing,” when companies quietly charge you a different price based on what they know about you, and will require platforms to be far more transparent about how their algorithms make big decisions about your life, like whether you are approved for a mortgage or a loan. You will find much more detail here.

    The second is public safety, which I know is a top priority for so many of you. Since Prime Minister Mark Carney’s government took office at the end of April 2025, we have introduced six public safety bills, because keeping our communities safe and holding criminals accountable is a responsibility we take seriously.

    I am very pleased to share that the Bail and Sentencing Reform Act is now law. It brings more than 80 changes to the Criminal Code, making bail harder to get for repeat and violent offenders and sentences tougher and longer, shaped by extensive consultations with police, mayors, provinces, and victims’ advocates right across the country. Alongside it, we have advanced the Combatting Hate Act and the Protecting Victims Act.

    There is a great deal more we have delivered or moved forward this session. Here are just a few highlights, with full details and links below:

    2. G7.

    On the world stage, our Prime Minister was in Evian-les-Bains, France this week for the G7 Leaders’ Summit, where G7 leaders backed Canada as a major global energy supplier and welcomed our potential to bring significant new energy capacity to world markets in the years ahead. As the PM put it, the big lesson is that we cannot allow ourselves to be “held hostage to one chokepoint in the global economy.”

    On that front there is encouraging news. The United States and Iran have signed a Memorandum of Understanding, supported by all G7 partners, that includes reopening the Strait of Hormuz. Oil prices have already begun to ease, and analysts expect them to return to pre-war levels by mid-July.

    3. Billy Bishop Toronto City Airport.

    I want to be clear, in a few short statements, about where I stand on any future expansion of Billy Bishop Toronto City Airport. There has been a lot of noise on this file and a lot of deliberate political positioning. Here is my position in a few words.

    One. The waterfront belongs to Torontonians. I will not support any expansion that reduces parkland or that takes away from the public’s enjoyment of the waterfront.

    Two. I will not support any expansion that increases emissions or fails to meet meaningful environmental standards. I have been clear about this from the beginning, and I will be clear about it at the end.

    Three. I will not support any expansion that does not directly and credibly address the concerns constituents have raised about noise, air quality, environmental protection, recreation space, and the balance of uses on the waterfront.

    Four. I will not support any expansion that diminishes Hanlan’s Point. That community, that ecosystem, and that beach are irreplaceable.

    Five. I will not support any operational changes at Billy Bishop until they have been tested against the five standards I laid out in my June letter to constituents.

    Six. Federal consent to any change in the operating environment of Billy Bishop requires the unanimous agreement of all three signatories to the Tripartite Agreement, and two of those three signatories are federal. That gives the federal government real influence on this file, and I intend to use my voice to make sure that influence is exercised in the interest of Torontonians.

    Toronto has 23 of the strongest champions for this city at the federal level, and we take that responsibility seriously.

    I also believe firmly that the City of Toronto must remain a key voice on any decision about Billy Bishop going forward. One cannot have a real conversation about Toronto’s waterfront without the City of Toronto. I have said this in my letters, in my interviews, and I will keep saying it.

    On the so-called plan

    I want to be direct. There is no plan. There is no business plan. There is no proposal.

    Prime Minister Carney said on June 4 that he has not formed an opinion on the expansion because the full consultation process has not been completed. Toronto’s Mayor has publicly said the same thing, that she has not seen any clear plan from the Toronto Port Authority. And the Toronto Port Authority’s own CEO confirmed under questioning at a Queen’s Park committee that the agency has done preliminary studies but has not completed a final business case, and that the business case will not be ready for another six to twelve months.

    There are statements of intent from the Ontario Premier (who also said there is no plan). There are early ideas being floated by parties who would benefit from a particular outcome. None of that is a plan.

    The CEO of Ports Toronto has himself said publicly that the business case is six to twelve months away.

    When municipal politicians, provincial politicians, or activist groups treat statements or ideas as if they were settled decisions, the effect is to inflame a debate and spread misinformation and disinformation. That is not in the public interest, and it is not how good waterfront decisions get made.

    The federal government has now opened a formal public consultation that closes July 24, with the explicit intention of hearing from Torontonians. The online survey is an important way to weigh in.

    What has been approved: the runway safety extension

    I also want to make a clear distinction that has been getting lost in the public debate. The runway safety extension (known as RESA, Runway End Safety Area) is a federally mandated safety requirement, with a Transport Canada deadline of July 12, 2027.

    It is the addition of safety zones at each end of the existing runway for aircraft already using the airport, not an expansion to accommodate jets.

    This work was endorsed by Toronto City Council in October 2024 and formally agreed by all three Tripartite signatories (PortsToronto, the City of Toronto, and Transport Canada) on January 28, 2025. That is the safety project that is happening regardless of any expansion conversation.

    On the worry I am hearing

    I want to speak directly to the distress and the distrust. I hear it. I share it.

    The fear I am hearing is not only that government will fail to get this right. The deeper fear, the one many of you have written to me about, is that a business plan will eventually be presented, consultations will be held, Torontonians will give their views, and those views will be set aside anyway. People in this city remember decisions that proceeded despite what residents wanted. That fear is legitimate, and I am not going to dismiss it.

    Let me tell you who I am. I am a downtown Torontonian. I was born and raised in this city. The waterfront is not a file I have been briefed on. It is a place I have lived. I know its value, today and for generations to come.

    My worry is your worry, and being worried is precisely what keeps me on guard and on top of this file.

    But I also want you to know this. For over a decade, the federal Liberal Members of Parliament from Toronto have delivered for this city: in housing, in transit, in the public realm, in waterfront investment, in the parks and the cultural institutions that make this city what it is.

    We will continue to deliver. Toronto’s waterfront will continue to be the gathering place, the playground, the natural refuge, and the economic engine it is, where Torontonians can keep enjoying the place that belongs to them.

    4. School Food Program:

    A couple of quick notes to round things out. Our National School Food Program is now reaching up to 400,000 more children each year, with federal funding doubled to $140 million. This news also means that more than 10,000 schools – 80% of provincially and territorially operated schools in Canada – are offering school food programs this school year, ensuring more children in our country can receive healthy and nutritious meals, no matter their family background. 

    5. Canada Strong Pass is now active:

    The Canada Strong Pass is active from today through September 7, offering free or discounted admission to national parks, museums, galleries, and VIA Rail, with the best savings for kids and young adults. The Pass includes:

    • Parks Canada: Free admission for all visitors to national parks, national historic sites, and national marine conservation areas administered by Parks Canada and a 25% discount on camping fees.
    • National museums and the Plains of Abraham Museum: Free admission for children and teens aged 17 and under and a 50% discount for young adults aged 18 to 24.
    • VIA Rail: Free travel for children aged 17 and under when accompanied by an adult and a 25% discount for young adults aged 18 to 24.
    • Participating provincial and territorial museums and galleries: Free admission for children and a 50% discount for young adults aged 18 to 24.

    6. Summer Fun:

    Finally, come say hello! I will be at Fairbank Summerfest on Eglinton West (Dufferin to Ronald Road), hoping to stop by tonight and there for a good chunk of the day tomorrow. My team and I will have free Canada swag, perfect for cheering on the World Cup. I would love to see you there. 

    As always, it is a true honour and privilege to serve you, Davenport!

    My best regards,

    MP Julie Dzerowicz
    Member of Parliament for Davenport
    Chair, Toronto Caucus
    Chair, Standing Committee on Citizenship and Immigration
    Chair, Canadian NATO Parliamentary Association