Mayor John Tory finds warm reception from Justin Trudeau on transit, infrastructure help

New MP Adam Vaughan says Ottawa get-together reveals “a very similar vision on what cities need.”


Thestar.com
Feb. 17, 2015
By David Rider


Mayor John Tory got a warm welcome in chilly Ottawa as federal parties readying their election platforms welcomed his SmartTrack transit plan and call for a new partnership with Toronto and other cities.

Liberal MP Adam Vaughan raved about his Tuesday afternoon meeting with Tory and Liberal Leader Justin Trudeau.

“They share more than the same initials. They share a very similar vision on what cities need in this country,” said Vaughan, his party’s housing and urban affairs critic and the former Toronto councillor for Ward 20 (Trinity-Spadina).

“The tenor of the conversation was, ‘Let’s have a real conversation met with a real commitment - if it’s SmartTrack you want, it’s SmartTrack you get,” he said.

“We’re not going to redraw lines on (transit) maps or have fishing parties,” he said, alluding to Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s fishing outings with previous mayor Rob Ford.

“You’re not going to get SmartTrack without a strong federal partner. John Tory gets that, Justin Trudeau gets that, and I get that.”

Tory is on a 24-hour pre-federal election trip that also included meetings with federal Transport Minister Lisa Raitt and Labour Minister Kellie Leitch, and with NDP Leader Thomas Mulcair and Beaches-East York NDP MP Matthew Kellway.

Before leaving, Tory told reporters his focus is pitching the above-ground SmartTrack rail plan to all three parties, as well as pressing public housing needs and “not sexy” infrastructure needs, such as aging water mains.

Kellway, the NDP’s urban affairs critic, said Tory and Mulcair “profoundly agreed on the need for the federal government to have an urban agenda with predictable funding rather than episodic attention.”

“We look forward, after forming government, to help Mayor Tory build SmartTrack and tackle the other serious issues facing Canadian cities.”

A spokeswoman for Raitt said that “Minister Raitt and Mayor Tory had a good meeting, discussing transportation priorities in the GTA.”

Early Wednesday morning Tory will meet Denis Lebel, the minister of infrastructure, communities and intergovernmental affairs and later in the day with MPs of various stripes before flying home.

Essential to building Tory’s SmartTrack proposal - which would run primarily on GO Transit tracks - are investments from all levels of government to fund the estimated $8-billion costs. Tory has promised to build the heavy rail line in seven years. He told the Star he has yet to make any specific dollar requests of the federal government ahead of the election.

“I’d love it if all three of them would be supportive,” he said of the parties.”

Liberals and New Democrats said Tory did not walk out with any firm financial commitments - none of the parties have released detailed urban affairs election policies.

Vaughan said the Liberals are committed to help build SmartTrack, to invest in housing and infrastructure and to continue participating in Waterfront Toronto.

Kellway said the NDP pledged to be a “strong partner” with cities through stable predictable funding, and to recognize Toronto’s importance.

Tory, a former Ontario Progressive Conservative leader with strong ties to Harper and his government, said he will not weigh in on federal politics and will support any policy “responsive to the needs of the City of Toronto.”

All federal parties are expected to court Toronto’s popular new mayor as they target seat-rich Toronto and the GTA in the election, to be held before November.