Federal leaders recognize transit as an economic driver
Ottawa is finally on board with sustained funding to build transit for Canadian cities.

thestar.com
Oct. 13, 2015
By Tess Kalinowski

Two years ago, the late former federal Conservative finance minister Jim Flaherty went to an east-end community centre pledging $660 million for the Scarborough subway, effectively burying a rival plan to build an LRT.

It was a marked contrast from 2009, when his Conservative colleague and then transport minister John Baird told Toronto to "f--- off" when it wanted cash to buy new streetcars.

As recently as June, Conservative Leader Stephen Harper made a pre-campaign stop at a TTC bus garage to promise $2.6 billion for Mayor John Tory's SmartTrack plan.

These examples are why transit advocates such as Councillor Joe Mihevc, a long-serving TTC board member and NDP supporter, accuse the Conservative government of "cherry-picking their pet projects."

"They should be asking: 'What are the city's priorities?' Then we fund a plan, not a project," he said.

But Harper's SmartTrack pledge wasn't another one-off. It came with the promise of a federal Public Transit Fund (PTF) that would see Ottawa invest $750 million over two years in Canadian transit projects, starting in 2017-2018, and $1 billion per year ongoing thereafter. Eligible projects would need to cost $1 billion or more and include a public-private partnership (P3) component.

With the Liberals and NDP also offering sustained, long-term transit funding, has Canada finally joined other developed nations in having its own national transit strategy - the kind of plan the Canadian Urban Transit Association (CUTA) has been seeking for years?

The answer is arguably "yes," according to CUTA CEO Patrick Leclerc. If sustained, predictable transit support is the criterion for having a strategy, then all the federal parties are now on board.

Federal politicians recognize that Ottawa has a role to play because transit plays a central role an increasingly urbanized economy.

"In the Greater Toronto-Hamilton Region, for instance, there's absolutely no doubt, the traffic congestion is impacting our entire economic growth strategy and even our gateway strategy, so it's impacting trade, productivity, domestic and foreign investment," said Leclerc.

Ottawa's role in funding transit has traditionally been confined to capital investments. It is up to the provinces and municipalities to fund operating costs. But ideally, the three levels of government should be working together. Without a cohesive plan, we risk building transit that cities can't afford to run - and that's a problem in some parts of the country, he said.

Despite billions in new project funding, the TTC is facing a $2.7-billion capital shortfall over the coming decade, just to keep the existing system in a state of good repair.

Queen's Park has made transit a "clear priority" in terms of capital investment under the Ontario Liberals. But the same government has been steadfast in its refusal to subsidize operating costs.

The current capital boom in transit also favours big cities, said Leclerc.

"The big gap we're seeing in Canada right now is medium-sized cities, where they don't necessarily need a new LRT or a transitway - medium to small cities, they need more buses to respond to the needs of their population. Buying buses is absolutely essential, but you don't buy buses with a P3."

What the parties are promising for transit

Progressive Conservatives: A new Public Transit Fund would begin with an investment of $750 million in the first two years, starting in 2017-2018. It would grow to $1 billion in each year thereafter. To qualify for the money, projects would need to include a private sector partnership component. The Conservatives have also pledged $2.6 billion to Mayor John Tory's SmartTrack plan to run Toronto commuter trains on electrified GO tracks around Toronto.

NDP: The party's Better Transit Plan would dedicate $1.3 billion a year over 20 years to public transit. Municipalities would see $7.2 billion, including their federal gas tax allotment, flow in the first four years of the plan. The Toronto Region would, over the life of the plan, get $7.7 billion for its priorities. The NDP also says it would expand the federal gas tax to $81.6 billion from $49.5 billion over the 20-year period.

Liberals: The party would dedicate an additional $20 billion over 10 years - part of a 10-year, $60-billion overall infrastructure plan - to public transit. The Liberals say they would honour the last government's commitment of $2.6 billion for SmartTrack and spend an additional $2 billion on the GO regional express rail electrification program. To provide the funding that he says will kick-start the economy, Leader Justin Trudeau says he would run a deficit until about 2019. The Conservatives and the NDP have promised to eliminate the deficit.

Greens: Citing an $18-billion Canadian infrastructure gap, the Green Party says it will commit $6.4 billion annually to municipal infrastructure. That money, 1 per cent of the GST, would be shared among roads, parks, water, schools and community centres. The party is promising to develop a National Transit Strategy with all levels of government to tie land use and density to transit investments.