Toronto councillors want a seat at the Metrolinx table
Provincial transit agency’s board members have ‘absolutely zero accountability,’ says councillor

TheStar.com
Nov. 13, 2016
Ben Spurr

Days after council approved a major transit agreement that puts Toronto on track to invest billions of dollars in rail projects owned by the Ontario government, some councillors are demanding the provincial transit agency be overhauled to include municipal representatives.

Under the terms of the agreement, which council passed last week, the city is responsible for some of the capital and all of the operating costs for Mayor John Tory’s SmartTrack program and new LRT lines planned for completion over the next decade.

Metrolinx, the provincial transit agency for the region, is paying the lion’s share of new projects, and will own the new lines, as well as wield enormous influence over how they’re built and operated.

The agency’s board is made up of 14 unelected, provincial appointees, however,which has some pushing for it to be reconstituted to include representatives from the city.

“The people sitting around the Metrolinx table have absolutely zero accountability,” charged Councillor Janet Davis (Ward 31, Beaches – East York).

“There is a standard principle in public administration and governance: you pay, you say. The more that the municipal government is paying for transit, the greater voice we should have.”

A spokesperson for Ontario Minister of Transportation Steven Del Duca said there are “no plans” to change the makeup of the board, which he said was modeled on those of other large North American transit organizations.

“Our recent success in reaching an agreement to deliver more transit to the people of Toronto is evidence of a very strong working relationship between the province, Metrolinx and the city,” wrote Stephen Heckbert. “The agreement includes a number of opportunities for the city to contribute to the work and be a partner.”

Davis said she was concerned that decisions made by Metrolinx could have major financial implications for Toronto. As one example, she cited the amount the city will have to pay to subsidize LRT operations on Eglinton, Finch West, and Sheppard East.

The cost is estimated to be more than $100 million a year if all the projects are completed, but the exact amount will depend on how much fare revenue the city collects. That will be determined by a new regional integrated fare model over which Metrolinx has final say.

The city is also responsible for $3.7 billion in capital costs for SmartTrack and the Eglinton West LRT, but once the projects are built, they will be owned by the province. The SmartTrack stations that the city will pay for will be served by Metrolinx GO trains, running on Metrolinx-approved schedules.

“We’re moving towards a period of increasing entanglement between the provincial and city government, and we need a voice at the table,” Davis said.

TTC chair Josh Colle agrees. While he described the transit commission’s relationship with Metrolinx as “productive,” he said he’s believed for some time that the city or TTC should have a seat on the board. He helped organize a joint board meeting between the TTC and Metrolinx in April, but it was largely symbolic and didn’t allow for the two boards to vote on decisions.

The deal struck last week “underscores the need for a more mature partnership,” said Colle.

Metrolinx president and CEO Bruce McCuaig declined to weigh in on the possibility of altering the makeup of the board, which would require changes to provincial legislation. “That is a conversation between the Province of Ontario and the City of Toronto,” he said.

But McCuaig said that the “stage gate” process built into the transit agreement ensures that the plans for SmartTrack, which is part of Metrolinx’s GO Transit regional express rail initiative, can’t proceed without approval from council at key decision points. He argued that would provide the city with significant oversight of how the money is spent.

“We’re talking literally on a daily basis with city officials on how we’re moving forward, so this is a real partnership,” he said.

The province is committing $7.8 billion to build the LRTs and spending $3.7 billion on regional express rail infrastructure in Toronto that will support SmartTrack.

Metrolinx was created in 2006, and originally had municipal representatives on its board. But the politicians were booted off in 2009. At the time the provincial Liberal government said that the board’s makeup was slowing progress on transit expansion.

Adding Toronto representatives back into the mix wouldn’t be simple. In addition to the TTC there are nine other municipal transit operators in the Greater Toronto and Hamilton Area, and each would likely want a spot of their own.

But according to one of the co-authors of a recent C.D. Howe Institute report on regional governance, major Metrolinx projects like fare integration could be undermined if the agency doesn’t change.

“Part of the reason why Vancouver’s referendum on transit funding failed was that people didn’t trust that the transit board was transparent enough when it came to deciding how to spend their tax dollars,” said Zachary Spicer, an assistant professor in political science at Brock University.

The report recommended that Metrolinx add local policymakers to its board to improve transparency and accountability. “You need local buy-in,” Spicer said.