TORONTO – The City of Toronto should not be forced to put off much-needed capital spending on its transit system to come up with enough money to make up for the Harper Conservative government abandoning its responsibilities, Ontario Liberal MPs said today.
“The city should not have to pay a big price for Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s and Transport Minister John Baird’s lack of vision,” said Liberal Infrastructure Critic Gerard Kennedy. “Toronto’s new streetcars are a key part of an overall strategic transit plan, paid for mainly by the province, and the federal government must play the small role it is being asked to play.”
“We call on the federal government to show maximum flexibility in their current negotiations with the City.”
Liberals have consistently demanded in Parliament that Conservatives work with the City of Toronto to ensure that the projects will move ahead. Had the federal government followed Mr. Kennedy’s motion adopted by the House of Commons to allocate the stimulus funds through the gas tax transfer, Toronto would have received its fair share of stimulus funding as of April 1.
The Toronto Transit Commission today is proposing to defer needed capital spending in order to come up with the $417-million for the project – the amount that would have been the Conservative government’s share of the $1.2-billion contract.
At stake are the city’s $8-billion Transit City plan and a $500-million savings for Toronto over the next bid that was submitted. This streetcar project would create 5,700 direct jobs in Ontario and Quebec and an additional 14,800 indirect jobs, according to a study by Shirocca Consulting for Bombardier.
“It is mind-boggling to Torontonians and to residents of Northern Ontario why a federal government that is supposed to manage a stimulus fund doesn’t see how the streetcar project will do exactly what they want these projects to do – create jobs.” said Davenport MP Mario Silva. “It will support a world-class company and support energy-efficient transit in Canada’s largest city. It’s a win-win for everyone.”
“The Ontario government has the same rules for its stimulus fund and found a way to support the project,” concluded Alan Tonks, Chair of the Ontario Liberal Caucus. “It is time for the Conservatives to stop second-guessing Toronto, stop blocking new transit services and do the right thing for Ontario.”
