Ontario delivering underground transit in Etobicoke Centre

The people don't want surface transit, writes MPP Kinga Surma

Toronto.com
May 21, 2019
Kinga Surma

As I've mentioned in previous columns, transportation is one of the most important issues affecting the people in Etobicoke Centre.

If passed, the Getting Ontario Moving Act -- which was introduced in the legislature earlier this month -- will keep our roads safe, protect front-line workers, schoolchildren, and motorcyclists, upload authority for new subway projects to the province, cut red tape for our province’s job creators and help make sure that Ontario’s roads remain among the safest in North America.

Recently, Premier Doug Ford, Minister of Transportation Jeff Yurek, Minister of Infrastructure Monte McNaughton, PA Stephen Lecce and myself, unveiled the new Transportation Plan at the GO Maintenance Facility in Etobicoke-Lakeshore. Together, our government announced our $28.5-billion plan to get Ontario moving. This is by far the most money ever invested to get shovels in the ground and get new subways built.

We are moving ahead with the new Ontario Line (extension of the previously-proposed downtown relief line), the Yonge North Subway Extension that will connect the subway to one of the region's largest employment centres, the three-stop Scarborough Subway Extension to better serve communities, and the Eglinton Crosstown West Extension, which will be built underground.

As the parliamentary assistant to the Minister of Transportation, I have been working on this plan since day one -- it's so exciting to finally see it come to fruition and to share our plan with the people of Ontario.

For the last two-and-a-half years, the City of Toronto has been consulting with Etobicoke Centre residents to determine whether to build the Eglinton Crosstown West Extension at street level or below ground. At all three community meetings and when we met at the doors, the people of Etobicoke Centre were very clear that they did not want the street-level option, which would add to the congestion on Eglinton; currently the busiest arterial road in the riding.

I am proud to tell the people of Etobicoke that the vast majority of this line will be underground where it belongs. We will not be ripping up one of the busiest streets in Toronto to build surface rail along Eglinton. Our government has taken a leadership role in public transit, and we will build public transit the right way.

Public transit is an investment worth making. It improves the quality of life for residents and adds to the economic vitality of the region. And, to ensure this plan is finally built, we have allocated the funds necessary to back it up. Our government has committed to the largest public transportation investment in North America's history.

The Ontario government's $28.5-billion plan intends to build transit lines all over Toronto. -- Government of Ontario image

Our new budget is aimed at protecting the services that matter most: health care, education and infrastructure, with a five-year plan to reduce our deficit.

Our plan includes free dental care for low-income seniors, flexible child care tax credit for families up to $8,250 per child a year, and auto insurance reform.

Our government is investing $700 million in additional funding this year, plus almost $13 billion in capital grants over 10 years, to build new schools in high-growth areas and improve existing schools. This funding will give our kids better places in which to learn.

To hold the premier and the minister to account and to prevent fiscal mismanagement in the future, both would experience a 10 per cent pay cut if they do not meet fiscal timelines. We are keeping our commitment to improve transparency and accountability. Had Kathleen Wynne been held accountable to the same standards, she would have owed taxpayers $75,000.

I hope that the residents of Etobicoke Centre are as proud of our accomplishments, our transit plan and budget, as I am. We have come a long way already and we will continue to fight for the taxpayer. This is our plan. This is our priority.