905 mayors laud provincial budget, but say suburban growth needs more support
Mayors across the 905 say provincial budget shows Queen's Park is starting to understand massive suburban growth.

thestar.com
April 26, 2015
By San Grewal

Mayors in some of the GTA’s municipalities reacted mostly with enthusiasm after the release of Thursday’s 2015 provincial budget. But in the booming suburbs across the so-called “905” there’s still a sense that Queen’s Park needs to do even more to keep up with staggering growth in the region.

With an eye on that growth - Ontario’s finance ministry projections state that the combined population of the GTA’s four regions outside Toronto could grow by more than 2.1 million in the next 25 years - many mayors say this budget is just a first step toward building infrastructure that’s desperately needed.

Here’s what some of them had to say about the budget. (Comments have been edited for length.)

“We are especially pleased to see the commitment to renewing and expanding public infrastructure. The investment in transit, particularly the planned electrification of GO Transit trains and 15-minute service on the Lakeshore West line in the next five to 10 years will benefit our residents, as well as serve as an added attraction for business investment in our city. The budget also reaffirms the province’s commitment to the redevelopment and expansion of Joseph Brant Hospital.” - Burlington Mayor Rick Goldring

“We have to get past the thought process that we are ‘individual’ communities. You can’t bake a slice of pie. To fix the problem, you need to think big. We need to work together to eliminate traffic congestion in all areas of the GTHA. We need to move people effectively, to shorten their commute time and allow them to go home to live their lives. Our communities are growing. We in Oshawa and Durham, along with our GTHA municipal partners, will have to work together to make sure that this message gets to the decision makers at the provincial level, so that we can get funding in the next budget.” - Oshawa Mayor John Henry

“Earlier this week Transportation Minister Del Duca announced Mississauga’s Hurontario-Main Light Rail Transit plan is getting the green light and receiving full provincial funding amounting to $1.6 billion - a game changer for Mississauga’s promising future. I further welcome news that the former Lakeview generating station property in south eastern Mississauga will be included as part of a long-term revitalization plan, as part of the government’s commitment to unlock the value of provincial assets.” - Mississauga Mayor Bonnie Crombie

“A strong transit network is the price of admission for any world class successful city. With the province’s strong commitment to the Hurontario-Main LRT and expanded GO train service, Brampton residents will now have even more transit options and reduced commuter times. I was delighted to learn that that the widening of the 410 Highway which began in the summer of 2014 will be expanded to add two lanes in each direction to this busy stretch of highway, including a high-occupancy vehicle (HOV) lane and a general purpose lane. I think in a high-growth community we are always impatient to achieve more with respect to Peel’s fair share of funding, but I do acknowledge we have made great strides when it comes to youth mental health, childcare and education funding formulas.” - Brampton Mayor Linda Jeffrey

“As mayor of a rapidly growing city with a new downtown that is tied to transit, I am pleased to see the Ontario government’s commitment to infrastructure. I will continue to urge the provincial and federal governments to work together to develop a well-defined framework required to address the affordable housing challenge. While this is often regarded as an important social issue, it is also a very important economic issue. The reality is that the city of Vaughan, much like the GTA, is growing rapidly. By 2031 employment growth in Vaughan is projected to reach 266,000 jobs, and in order to keep up with the demand for labour, we must be able to provide affordable housing options for employees of our growing business sector.” - Vaughan Mayor Maurizio Bevilacqua

“Thursday’s budget announcement reinforces the province’s commitment for transit in the Greater Toronto and Hamilton Area over the next 10 years. We are very supportive of the service enhancements to the GO Transit system, including the electrification of the Lakeshore West line. - Oakville Mayor Rob Burton

“The investment in rapid transit is truly transformational. For us, having 15 minute service from Union Station to Unionville and hourly to Mount Joy in off- peak is long overdue. Markham has been ahead of the curve in developing major urban growth centres - intensification - (and) without (Thursday’s) announcement, all of that would have been jeopardized, putting more pressure on urban sprawl. We were hoping for more detail on the Yonge subway to Highway 7 and the proposed satellite university in Markham.” - Markham Mayor Frank Scarpitti