It’s entirely possible that an early work by the next Atom Egoyan or David Cronenberg will screen on Wednesday night at the TIFF Bell Lightbox. With the 2013 Student Film Showcase featuring the best from post-secondary schools around the country and the Jump Cuts Young Filmmakers Showcase kicking off the evening with Toronto-area high-school students’ films, the night will be a coming-out party for a new crop of talent. Judging by the polished creativity of some of the entries, it’s safe to say that young people are more prepared than ever to start telling stories on film from an early age.

According to CBC’s Chris Boyce, the goal of this weekend’s CBCMusic.ca Festival is twofold. First and foremost, the CBC wants to celebrate Canadian music. Second, it wants to celebrate CBC Music, the broadcaster’s online music service, which launched a little over a year ago.

In 1996, Theatre Columbus premiered playwright Michael O’Brien’s “freely adapted” take on the famous Beaumarchais play The Barber of Seville, which was written in 1775. O’Brien’s version mixed in music from the 1816 opera of the same name by Gioachino Rossini, as well as original tunes by composer John Millard. The adaptation also propelled the story forward a couple centuries, with pop culture references galore. With Theatre Columbus co-founder Leah Cherniak at the helm, the musical ended the season with six Dora Award nominations (it won three) and plenty of critical acclaim.

Seventeen years later, Soulpepper Theatre is remounting this zany reimagination of The Barber of Seville, updated once again by O’Brien, Millard, and Cherniak. But, for some reason—the change in decade, or company, or sense of humour—whatever had made the original so magical, has faded, save for a few key performances.

Leafing through the history of Billy Bishop Toronto City Airport is like listening to a broken record. Every few years the groove locks on yet another proposal to expand the Island airport’s facilities. Until the arrival of Robert Deluce and Porter Airlines, most of these visions failed to take flight. Even ideas that became reality endured lengthy delays. In fact, the pedestrian tunnel between the mainland and the airport that’s currently under construction is a revival of a project briefly worked on during the mid-1930s.

While we wait to see if the staff study authorized by city council Monday night leads to the changes Porter Airlines CEO Robert Deluce desires (he’d like to introduce jet service, currently banned on the Island), here’s a look back at how the airport was born, and at previous proposals to alter the status quo.

Click through the image gallery, above, to learn more.

Additional material from More Than an Island by Sally Gibson (Toronto: Irwin, 1984), Unbuilt Toronto by Mark Osbaldeston (Toronto: Dundurn, 2008), the July 6, 1937; August 19, 1938; September 9, 1939; December 31, 1963; and May 29, 1974 editions of the Globe and Mail, and the July 10, 1937 edition of the Toronto Star.

It turns out that technology once only dreamed about in the back of comic books is now a reality: T-ray scanners may soon be deployed at an airport near you, and they know what you look like naked. Transport Canada is now reviewing a six-month trial of the security scanners, which are currently only voluntary and are used only when someone has set off the metal detector. The subject’s body is scattered with terahertz radiation, which—unlike X-rays—are believed to be harmless to human tissue. A technician reviews the scanner results in a windowless room, and the resulting images are anonymous, incredibly unflattering, and decidedly unerotic. Images can’t be stored, faces are obscured, and cameras aren’t allowed in the viewing room. Still, opponents say that peering at nude bodies is even too extreme for already-excessive security theatre, and may even run afoul of child porn laws. According to a spokesperson from the Canadian Air Transport Security Authority, however, 95% of travellers in the Kelowna, B.C., trial preferred it. If approved by Transport Canada and the Canadian privacy commissioner, the high-tech peepshow could be coming to Toronto airports soon.

Now in service for a decade, the Airport Express plan had the luxury of being designed in conjunction with the massive, US$20 billion(!) Hong Kong International Airport project (both opened simultaneously). The system was designed to allow the trains to arrive directly at the terminal every twelve minutes, letting customers off right at the check-in area or picking them up from the arrivals lounge. The obvious benefit of this door-to-door service is not having to haul luggage very far, although free porters are available to help.
Tickets are easily purchased at touchscreen terminals for HKD$100 (about $17) by cash, credit card, or the ubiquitous Octopus card, the latter of which is accepted on almost all public transport in Hong Kong. Some airlines even support automated check-in, so travellers can grab their boarding passes while they wait for the train, which comes every twelve minutes.

The GTAA says that Toronto’s new Terminal 1 has been designed with the future rail link in mind [PDF], and it would arrive at the facility’s existing LINK tram station, which currently connects satellite parking lots by cable-pulled train to Terminals 1 and 3. Since there are no existing train tracks that go as far as the airport, a new spur would need to be built, likely from the Woodbine terminus, located about 3 km from Terminal 1.
Proposed stops on Toronto’s plan include Union Station, Dundas West TTC station (GO’s Bloor station), and one near Woodbine Racetrack at Highway 427. The Hong Kong line has also kept stops at a convenient minimum, and the trains feature an LED progress bar that shows where the train is in relation to the next station—something peripherally discussed for future TTC subway cars.

The trains on the Chinese link are manufactured by Montréal-based Bombardier, which builds TTC subway cars and is one of the bidders for the Transit City Light Rail Plan. These electric “A-Stock” trains are specifically customized for airport travellers, with wide aisles, generous leg room, and large baggage racks beside the doors. Large flatscreen panels announce current and upcoming stops and display short ads and lifestyle clips in between.
Brand-new track for Hong Hong means a faster, smoother ride—something that Toronto won’t be able to fully realize, since most of a 25-kilometre Pearson link would exist on the current rail corridor on segments owned by CN and GO Transit. Most conspicuously, the trip between downtown Hong Kong and the airport is dead silent. Unlike the subway or GO train, there is no significant side-to-side rocking or screeching, making for some welcome decompression time after a long day of travel. And, oh ehm gee, there’s WiFi.
Though running a shorter distance, a Toronto link would take about the same time—about 22 minutes from airport to downtown, versus 24 minutes for Hong Kong, and trains to Pearson would operate every 15 minutes. Transport Canada estimates that a direct rail link here would eliminate 1.5 million car trips in in the first year.

Like many other relatively new surface transport stations, Hong Kong’s Airport Express employs full glass safety barriers, which only allow ingress and egress when the train has fully stopped and do not allow access to track level. This type of barrier is one of the options examined by the TTC, but it will probably prove too expensive of a reno.
As for advertising, the Airport Express has it, but it’s restrained and relatively subtle. In every case, directional signage takes priority, comforting tourists and giving the platforms and trains a cleaner, uncluttered look.
Hong Kong’s system parallels those in many other countries, and there isn’t really much to complain about—the journey is basically seamless, comfortable, and idiot-proof. With talks ramping up again this summer about getting a Union-Pearson project back on track (albeit one likely to be operated by the private sector), planners could crib much from Hong Kong’s sophistication. But, jeez, let’s get on with it.
Photos by Marc Lostracco.