Subway upload talks to cost $2 million, city report says

Thestar.com
March 21, 2019
Ben Spurr

The next steps in the provincial government’s plan to take ownership of Toronto’s subway system will be up for debate at city hall Thursday, when a report on the highly contentious proposal will go before Mayor John Tory’s executive committee.

The report seeks authorization for the city to spend $2 million to cover the costs of participating in talks with the province, a figure that includes expenses associated with hiring additional staff and securing third-party advice about the plan.

A report going to Mayor John Tory’s executive committee seeks authorization for the city to spend $2 million to cover the costs of participating in subway upload talks with the province.

It also seeks authorization for city manager Chris Murray to release confidential information about the transit system to the province as part of the discussions.

According to the report, the city will seek “full cost recovery” from Queen’s Park for its participation in the talks, including the cost of temporarily reassigning TTC and city staff to a dedicated team to handle the file.

In response to the Star’s questions, Mike Winterburn, a spokesperson for Ontario Transportation Minister Jeff Yurek, didn’t explicitly commit the province to paying all of the city’s costs. But he cited a November letter to Tory in which Yurek said the province would be “amenable to paying for any third-party expertise” the city sought out.

A majority of councillors are on record opposing the Progressive Conservatives’ plan to “upload” the subway to the province, but in December they agreed to enter into the discussions after receiving legal advice that the city had no legislative ability to prevent the province from taking over the rail network.

Last month, the city and province agreed to terms of reference for talks about the upload, which included an agreement to share information about the transit system.

According to city spokesperson Brad Ross, a steering committee of city and provincial officials has now met three times to discuss the proposal.

In mid-February, the province made its first request to the city for information about the subway.

Winterburn didn’t specify what the province had asked for, but said the city and province were working to “establish an objective accounting and technical assessment of the TTC subway network.”
Ross said some of the information the province requested was already publicly available and “links have been provided to those materials.” The city and TTC are reviewing the rest of the request.

As outlined in the terms of reference, the city and province are reviewing three options as part of their talks: the “upload” as proposed by the province, which would see the province take ownership of existing and future subway lines; a partial upload under which the province would only take ownership of new transit projects; and a “broader realignment of transit responsibilities” that could result in changes to transit funding and governance, but may not include any subway assets changing hands.

The provincial government has said it has no plans to take over the day-to-day operations of the transit network, and the TTC would still run the system and continue to collect fare revenue.

Premier Doug Ford and members of his cabinet have argued the upload would allow for speedier completion of new subway projects because the province has greater financial powers than the city to invest in expensive infrastructure.

Opponents to the plan argue the TTC’s subway network is closely integrated with its bus and streetcar routes, and splitting ownership of the system between two levels of government would lead to inefficiencies and worse service.

Don Peat, the mayor’s spokesperson, declined to answer specific questions about the report, but issued a statement from the mayor reiterating his position that “any decision about our subway system needs to be in the best interests of the people of Toronto, including transit riders and employees.”

The statement also insisted that the city and people of Toronto “must be completely involved and consulted.”

The report says the city intends to seek public feedback through public meetings, tele-town halls, webinars, pop-ups and online surveys, but Ross said the timing of the consultations is still being confirmed.

The report states that “activities are expected to proceed rapidly” because the province plans to introduce legislation on the upload by June at the latest.

Advocacy group TTCriders said it planned to attend Thursday’s meeting and urge the mayor and councillors to approve a proposal to launch a public-relations campaign against the upload.

“Premier Ford’s plan to take control of our subway will have serious and lasting impacts on transit riders. His plan to break apart the TTC will delay the transit we need and opens the door to higher fares, privatization and loss of accountability,” said Shelagh Pizey-Allen, the group’s executive director.

If the executive committee approves the report, it will be sent to council next week for a full debate.