Ontario Premier Doug Ford says his government has already learned the lessons of the years-delayed Eglinton Crosstown LRT and won’t call a public inquiry as the line prepares to finally open this weekend.
The premier held an event at Eglinton Station on Friday to celebrate the opening of the line, where he agreed the project had been a “nightmare” but accused reporters of being “negative” about it.
As the transit project has dragged on, calls for a full public inquiry have grown, with demands to convene a panel to dig into the details of how the transit line could be delivered over budget and six years late.
“No, we aren’t going to do that, we’re going to move on and continue building the subways,” Ford said when asked about a public inquiry.
“We all know the mistakes and we’ve acknowledged them and we’ve learned. All the stakeholders, Metrolinx, TTC, we’re all in it together. I’m the first to come out and acknowledge the mistakes. I’m not going to waste time on inquiries, all the nonsense, tie all these people up.”
Calls for an inquiry have come from Coun. Josh Matlow at Toronto City Hall, as well as the Ontario NDP, which is demanding that the lessons of the project be learned in detail and in public.
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Local advocacy group TTCriders joined the chorus, saying the government must ensure its next round of transit construction improves on the Eglinton Crosstown LRT debacle.
“This project took far too long, and Torontonians deserve clear answers about why,” Andrew Pulsifer, the group’s executive director, said.
“We need a public inquiry into the delays on Line 5 and Line 6 so that future projects, like the Eglinton East LRT and the Waterfront East LRT, are not saddled with the same mistakes. If we don’t learn the lessons of Lines 5 and 6 now, we risk repeating these failures again and again.”
Earlier this week, new TTC CEO Mandeep Lali refused to be drawn on whether an inquiry would help build transit better or distract resources at the TTC.
“My job is to run the railway, and I’ll leave that to others to decide,” he told reporters.
The premier, however, made it clear Friday he wanted to move on.
“You’re beating a dead horse here; we’ve been going through this for years, the same old questions,” Ford implored reporters. “Let’s celebrate a new line.”
The Eglinton Crosstown LRT will carry its first passengers around 7:30 a.m. Sunday.
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