Ford government tables legislation to take over new Toronto transit projects

Thastar.com
May 3, 2019
Ben Spurr

The Ontario PC government introduced legislation Thursday that would give it sweeping powers to assume control of new Toronto transit projects. This marks a significant step in the province’s controversial plan to take over the city’s subway network.

The Getting Ontario Moving Act, which Transportation Minister Jeff Yurek previewed in a speech to a business audience Wednesday, would allow the government to designate new rapid transit projects or rapid transit extension projects as the “sole responsibility” of Metrolinx, the provincial transit agency for the GTHA.

The Ontario Progressive Conservative government has tabled legislation that, if passed, would see the province take over new Toronto subway projects.

It would also allow the province to order the transfer of TTC and city transit assets related to those new projects to Metrolinx, “with or without compensation.”

The transportation minister would be empowered to issue directives that the TTC and city would be required to follow about projects, and prohibit the TTC and city from working on or making decisions about transit projects without the minister’s approval.

Speaking in the legislature Thursday, Yurek said that, after years of delays to new subway projects, the new bill would allow the province to realize the “historic vision” behind the $28.5-billion transit plan Premier Doug Ford announced last month.

“What we’re going to do is upload that responsibility to the province, and we’re going to get this job done,” he said, pledging to build the “integrated, regional network that the people of Toronto and the GTHA deserve.”

The province argues it can deliver new lines faster than the city, because it has greater financial and regulatory powers.

The government expects to pass the bill before the Legislature rises for the summer June 6.

The act, which the province introduced even though talks with the city about the subway upload have not yet concluded, only applies to new lines or extensions of those in place.

The Ontario PCs have stated they plan to introduce legislation enabling the upload of the TTC subway system to the province no earlier than next year.

They say the day-to-day operation of the lines would remain with the TTC.

Councillor Gord Perks (Ward 4, Parkdale--High Park) criticized the province for introducing the bill before talks with the city have concluded, and for making provisions for the government to take over city transit assets without compensation.

“Not only has the province operated in bad faith, they are now threatening to steal assets from Torontonians,” he said.

Ontario NDP MPP and transit critic Jessica Bell slammed the legislation as a “hostile takeover” of Toronto’s transit network.

Bell said Metrolinx couldn’t be trusted to oversee the city’s transit system. She cited the agency’s track record, which includes reliability problems with its expensive Presto fare card system and the mismanaged launch of the Union Pearson Express.

In the legislature, Bell described the Ontario PC transit blueprint as “a back-of-the-napkin plan cooked up by the premier.”

She said pursuing it would mean throwing out costly design work the city had already completed on projects such as a downtown relief line for the subway. The province wants to replace it with a much longer, $10.9-billion light rail line dubbed the Ontario Line, which would connect Ontario Place and the Science Centre via downtown.

The Ford government’s other priorities are converting the city’s plan for a one-stop Scarborough subway extension to a three-stop project, building a western underground extension of the Eglinton Crosstown LRT and pushing the Line 1 subway to Richmond Hill. The province has committed $11.2-billion to the plan, and wants Toronto to contribute at least $6 billion.

“We all know what happens when transit plans are ripped up. There are more delays, there’s more uncertainty and it makes it even less likely that transit will be built,” Bell said.

Ford shot back, saying his plan had been drafted by experts at Metrolinx and Infrastructure Ontario.

“What an insult you just gave to all the bright minds at Infrastructure Ontario, some of the smartest people in the world, saying ‘back-of-the-napkin,’ ” he said.

“They know what a world-class subway system is. They came up with an incredible plan, and the crown jewel is the Ontario Line running from Ontario Place up to the Ontario Science Centre, and actually running through a lot of the NDP ridings. I’m sure their constituents would be more than happy to utilize the new subway system that the minister of transportation is putting in the GTA.”