Tory says Ontario obligated to help Toronto with transit after killing road tolls
Mayor John Tory warns that until the downtown relief life gets funding the city will not approve the Line 1 extension.

thestar.com
By BEN SPURR
April 3, 2017

Mayor John Tory stepped up his campaign to secure more transit funding from the province on Monday, saying it will be “virtually impossible” to complete major projects such as the relief-line subway without a significant contribution from Queen’s Park.

At a 10 a.m. press conference on a busy subway platform at Bloor-Yonge station, Tory called on the province to match funding the federal Liberals announced last month in their 2017 budget.

The mayor argued that the province has an obligation to come up with cash, especially because Premier Kathleen Wynne quashed a council-approved plan to implement road tolls on the Don Valley Parkway and Gardiner Expressway.

“Unfortunately, the province said ‘no’ to allowing the city to control its own finances and address its own needs,” Tory said. “So now, the future of transit expansion in Toronto rests squarely with the province of Ontario.”

He said that, with commitments from the other two levels of government, “we can start talking about the relief line as a real project and not a pipe dream,” but warned that without the province at the table, it would be “virtually impossible” to build the subway.

The relief line would connect Line 2 (Bloor-Danforth) in the eastern half of the city to downtown, and the TTC says it’s badly needed to take the pressure off the overcrowded Line 1 (Yonge-University-Spadina).

“We need a commitment from the government of Ontario. We need a plan from them,” Tory said.

The provincial Liberals are expected to table their budget in the coming weeks, and have, so far, made no sign they intend to include more money for Toronto transit.

Transportation Minister Steven Del Duca responded to Tory’s remarks Monday afternoon with a statement that suggested the mayor was “playing politics” with transit planning.

“I want to be very clear: no provincial government in the history of Ontario has invested more in Toronto transit projects than the Kathleen Wynne Liberals,” Del Duca said.

The statement included a list of previous provincial commitments to projects in the city that totaled more than $12 billion and included full funding for the Eglinton Crosstown LRT and Union Pearson Express, as well as contributions to the Scarborough and Spadina subway extensions, Tory’s SmartTrack plan and the purchase of new streetcars.

Del Duca argued that funding the federal Liberals included in their budget is merely a sign that Ottawa is “catching up on years of underinvestment” by previous Conservative governments, while the province has been a consistent partner.

“We are not going to play political games with transit. We will be at the table and have always been at the table,” the minister said.

The federal budget included plans for Ottawa to spend more than $20 billion on public transit across the country over the next decade through a dedicated infrastructure fund.

The city estimates its share of the fund could be up to $5 billion, to be split between at least five projects: the Scarborough subway extension (which would get $660 million), the Eglinton East LRT, Waterfront Transit, Tory’s SmartTrack plan, and the relief line.

The city is about $7 billion short of funding all the projects.

The cost of the relief line is estimated at $6.8 billion, and, although the province has pledged $150 million for planning and design work, neither the city nor the province has allocated significant money to its construction.

The federal government has said it would fund up to 40 per cent of new transit projects. Tory said Monday he hoped the province would match that amount, and the city would pay the remaining 20 per cent, which, for the relief line, would work out to roughly $1.36 billion.

He said he wouldn’t “speculate” on how Toronto would raise its share of the costs, but said, if the province committed to the project, council would find a way.

Tory said the line should not be funded through property taxes the city collects.

The mayor has promised not to raise property taxes above the rate of inflation, although rates in Toronto are the lowest in the province.

Although he cited the road toll plan as a way to fund transit, it’s not clear that the proposal, which would have brought in a maximum of $330 million a year, could have enabled the city to pay its share of new projects.

In another sign of the apparent rift between city hall and Queen’s Park, the mayor warned Monday that he wouldn’t allow work on a proposed extension of Line 1 into Richmond Hill to proceed until the relief line is under construction.

The northward extension is a priority for York Region, and the province has signalled its support by funding design work, but the TTC fears it will only add riders to the already overburdened Line 1.

“The Yonge line won’t move an inch closer to Richmond Hill until we have shovels in the ground digging out that much needed subway relief line,” Tory said.

Speaking to reporters at Queen’s Park, Del Duca called those remarks “pointed words.”