Doug Ford government interfered in Metrolinx tree removal communications, emails show

Internal emails obtained by the Star cast doubt on the independence of provincial transit agency Metrolinx.

Thestar.com
Jan. 9, 2023
Lex Harvey

Doug Ford’s government directed Metrolinx to leave two Toronto New Democrat MPPs off a notice sent to city and federal politicians about tree removals in their jurisdictions, according to internal emails obtained by the Star that cast doubt on the independence of the transit agency.

In a series of emails between the province and the transit agency, Ministry of Transportation staff overrode Metrolinx’s recommendation to include New Democrat MPP Kristyn Wong-Tam and then official Opposition leader Peter Tabuns -- two vocal critics of Metrolinx -- on notices about the need to remove trees in their ridings to allow construction of the new Ontario Line subway, with staff saying the order came from minister Caroline Mulroney’s office.

Communications staff at the ministry also ask Metrolinx in the emails to remove from construction notices the estimated number of trees that will be taken down, at the request of Ford’s office.

Transportation Minister Caroline Mulroney's office overrode Metrolinx's recommendation to include NDP MPPs Kristyn Wong-Tam and Peter Tabuns on notices about tree removals in their ridings.

The emails shed light on behind-the-scenes communications between the province and Metrolinx, which has been positioned as an arm’s-length agency since its creation in 2006, but which has increasingly been criticized for its apparent cosiness with Premier Doug Ford’s Progressive Conservative administration. Previous reporting from the Star’s Ben Spurr revealed Metrolinx is not permitted to communicate with the public about key issues without government approval.

“This is the public’s money, and the public would expect public accountability and public notice,” said Wong-Tam, MPP for Toronto Centre and a former city councillor.

Wong-Tam said they first heard the trees were being chopped down in Moss Park on social media, which they said was unusual, because Metrolinx typically notifies them about construction or other matters affecting Toronto Centre constituents.

In a statement, Ministry of Transportation spokesperson Dakota Brasier said, “Over the past two years, Metrolinx has been actively engaging with Moss Park and Osgoode Hall area residents, businesses, community groups and elected officials.”

Brasier added that “construction notices are one of many means used to provide information and updates as we build critical infrastructure. Metrolinx conducts frequent briefings, updates and meetings -- which elected officials are invited to participate in.”

Ford’s deputy chief of staff for media did not respond to multiple requests for comment from the Star.

Speaking to reporters at Queen’s Park on Wednesday about the tree removals, Ford said, “I just want to build infrastructure. (The Ontario Line is) going to carry millions of people over decades. We’re going to plant many more trees.”

Metrolinx is a Crown agency that oversees transportation across the Greater Toronto Area, including GO Transit and the Union Pearson Express. It is also responsible for building the 15.5-kilometre Ontario Line, which is scheduled to be completed in a decade or so.

Critics of Metrolinx say the transit agency is doing the Ford government’s bidding, as opposed to impartially evaluating multibillion-dollar projects and implementing the best transit policy based on evidence.

“As a Crown agency, the minister’s office works closely with Metrolinx, which has been the process for over a decade,” said Brasier.

Residents of affected communities have taken issue with the way Metrolinx handles construction, accusing it of failing to consult people at the centre of its plans, even when they stand to significantly disrupt the environment, businesses and communities.

Metrolinx’s plans to cut down dozens of trees across the city to make way for Ontario Line construction have drawn fire from residents, who argue that the transit agency can move forward with its plans without destroying treasured green space.

On Sunday, Moss Park residents held a funeral for the 61 mature trees that were cut down for a new station. Also last weekend, Metrolinx was forced to temporarily pause the chopping of trees at Osgoode Hall after an Ontario Superior Court justice granted an interim injunction.

In a statement, Metrolinx said its community engagement teams “take a multi-channel approach to sharing information with the community, stakeholders and elected officials about our projects and have engaged these individuals a number of times about this project.”

But a series of emails obtained by the Star offer insight into the province’s relationship with Metrolinx.

The email chain, which begins in December 2022 and ends in January, is a back-and-forth between roughly a dozen people at Metrolinx and the province discussing the communications plan regarding tree removals for the Ontario Line, specifically in Moss Park, Riverside and Leslieville, and the Don Valley.

In the email chain, a communications staffer for the Ministry of Transportation asks that MPPs Tabuns and Wong-Tam be removed from the notice to elected officials.

In response to the request, which is explained as coming from the minister’s office, a Metrolinx spokesperson replies that it’s “customary” to include local MPPs on such notifications, and asks to discuss the matter further.

After the two sides appear to discuss this matter over the phone, the staffer replies to the thread:

“I discussed it further with the (minister’s office) but, after considering, they have confirmed that the direction is to not notify the MPPs and only notify the councillors/MPs.”

Tabuns, MPP for Toronto-Danforth, has long supported calls by his constituents to bury the Ontario Line in Riverside, to preserve the area’s parks and keep neighbourhoods quiet. As it stands, the Ontario Line will run above ground for about two kilometres along the joint rail corridor shared with GO Transit.

Tabuns, who led the NDP on an interim basis until last weekend when the party officially elected Marit Stiles, has also spoken out about what he sees as the politicization of Metrolinx.

“Metrolinx is really just a front,” he said at an event organized by advocacy group Save Jimmie Simpson in January 2021, alongside a slide with a photo of Ontario’s legislature.

“The decisions are made in this building, at Queen’s Park, by the premier, by his cabinet.”

Tabuns was not available for comment. An NDP spokesperson said he is taking some time off after serving as interim party leader.

Wong-Tam has strongly opposed Metrolinx plans to chop down the Moss Park trees as city councillor and as MPP since being elected in 2022. In a statement issued Saturday, Wong-Tam appeared irate that Metrolinx went ahead with the tree removal “without reasonable consultation or notice.”

By excluding Wong-Tam and Tabuns from the official notice, Mulroney was being “openly contemptuous of the role of MPP,” said Wong-Tam, adding that “as a member of the official Opposition, it’s also my job to hold the government accountable.”

“The minister needs to remember that her government is supposed to serve all the people and not just those who voted for the PCs.”

Also in the emails, the same communications staffer for the Ministry of Transportation asks on behalf of Mulroney’s office about “the rationale for including the number of trees to be removed in the construction notices as there may be an interest in holding off on sharing the number proactively at this time.”

A Metrolinx staff member responds, saying the number is typically included for “transparency.”

“Not including the number could imply we are not being truthful to the community,” they add.

In a later email, another Ministry of Transportation staffer says the premier’s office wants the number of trees that will be removed taken off the notices.

“We will provide this information reactively when asked.”