The man behind the plan to provide hovercraft services between Port Weller and Toronto isn’t backing down from making it a reality — despite two years passing since its public announcement and still no vehicles in the water.
In the latest update, Chris Morgan, CEO of Hoverlink, met with PortsToronto officials Sept. 9 to discuss finding his company a home port in Toronto.
"They were super supportive," he said. "We are now just looking at the best options available and hopefully we will cross that bridge in the next four weeks."
The large amount of development on Toronto's harbourfront is the issue, making it difficult to find the space for his services, he said.
While he is frustrated by PortsToronto inability to give him a firm timeline, he is confident that a solution will come forward.
"It’s just their pace, I guess," he said.
PortsToronto, an updated moniker for the Toronto Port Authority, is a self-funded government business enterprise, established under the Canada Marine Act.
As an organization in the public sector, Morgan described it as existing more in a "looking glass" than a private-sector group — with more eyes on them.
"In the private sector, you are more in a looking glass of your customers and your work environment. I think it is double that in the public sector," he said.
The hovercraft service, which would cost customers about $50 to $60 roundtrip and take about 30 minutes one-way, has been plagued with setbacks since the idea was first presented to the public in the fall of 2022. At that time, it was promised it would be operational by the summer of 2023.
In March 2023, Morgan said plans had been delayed by a year but that the service was coming soon. Then, in May this year, it was delayed again.
The setback at that time, he said, was the result of governing bodies on both sides of Lake Ontario wanting to "ensure full compliance is met on every level."
Despite all the holdups, Morgan refuses to give up, promising to continue promoting the idea through meetings with officials and the public.
Richard Wright is a Local Journalism Initiative Reporter based at The Lake Report.
