TORONTO – Why is every level of government tripping over itself to throw money into a Scarborough subway tunnel?
The province has promised $1.4 billion, the feds have promised $660 million. And the city of Toronto – in a motion spearheaded by Mayor Rob Ford – has voted to increase property taxes between 1.1 and 2.4 per cent while simultaneously increasing development charges to fill in a $500 million funding gap and pay for the $2.5 billion project.
Global News’ Queen’s Park Bureau Chief Alan Carter says each level of government needs votes in Scarborough: Ford wants re-election, Wynne wanted to win the by-election and the federal government wants to pick up seats in the 416.
Ford pushed for subways rather than light rail transit (LRT) during his successful 2010 mayoral campaign. He portrayed LRT construction as a “war on cars” and recently said his drive to discard the fully-funded Scarborough LRT for a partially funded subway was “just the beginning.”
According to Focus Ontario co-host John Tory, Ford deserves the “credit or the blame” for making the public transit discussion all about subways.
He added: “It has to be about subways now. Anything else is seen as second-rate and if you’re supporting anything else, you’re seen as supporting second-class for Scarborough.”
Get a ground-level view of the great transit debate. Focus Ontario airs Saturday at 5:30p.m and Sunday at 11:30 a.m.
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