| MACLEOD AND STERLING TEAM UP FOR OTTAWA |
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| Monday, 01 December 2008 19:00 |
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Ottawa Tory MPPs demand fair funding for Ottawa Transit Plan For Immediate Release December 2nd, 2008 (Queen’s Park, Toronto) – Progressive Conservative MPPs Lisa MacLeod (Nepean-Carleton) and Norm Sterling (Carleton-Mississippi Mills) demanded today that Premier McGuinty be fair to Ottawa by committing immediately to fund some construction-ready transit projects. Last Friday, Ottawa City Council overwhelmingly passed a new transportation master plan. “Our City’s first phase includes bus rapid transit construction-ready projects for Fallowfield, Baseline, Moodie and the Strandherd-Armstrong Bridge, all to the tune of $278 million,” stated MacLeod. “These are critical infrastructure projects, and it is time the Liberal Government committed to that funding so that we can move forward.” “It is time that Ottawa got its fair share for public transportation,” stated Sterling. “Ottawa and Eastern Ontario need to have the same degree of support as Toronto and Central Ontario.” Sterling took it a step further and called on the McGuinty government to fund two-thirds of the Ottawa transit plan – the same percentage that the province committed to Central Ontario and the Greater Toronto Area’s Metrolinx transit plan. Dalton McGuinty, who represents an Ottawa riding, would only commit to reviewing the plan and raised concerns about the costing and feasibility. While McGuinty repeatedly referred to having $200 million “on the table” he would not agree to provide that money to the city to get started on the construction-ready projects. For more information, contact Nepean-Carleton MPP Lisa MacLeod at (416) 325 -6351 or Carleton-Mississippi Mills MPP Norm Sterling at (416) 314-7900 DRAFT HANSARD TRANSCRIPT December 2, 2008 – Question Period Public transportation Ms. Lisa MacLeod: To the Premier: Last Friday, Ottawa council voted resoundingly in favour of a new transportation master plan. This critical infrastructure project will include a $1.7-billion investment into Ottawa in its first phase. This includes construction-ready bus rapid transit for Fallowfield, Baseline, Moody, and getting the Strandherd-Armstrong bridge online, all to the tune of $278 million. The city is in; the federal transportation minister indicated yesterday that they will put their portion in. Will this Liberal government commit today to invest in the $278 million in construction-ready projects which are consistent with your five-point economic plan and imperative to our city’s overwhelmingly endorsed transportation plan? Hon. Dalton McGuinty: Let me say that I congratulate the city council for adopting a plan. We’ve had $200 million on the table for close to two years now. I think the folks in Ottawa, my hometown, know that we are very much committed to investing in public transit, ensuring that there is an alternative to the car that is affordable and that is user-friendly. We are now going to take the time to give some very careful consideration to this plan. I have said for some time now that our original investment of $200 million would very likely be less than adequate, given the nature of the work that has yet to be done in the city of Ottawa. I think the appropriate thing for us to do at this point in time is to take a long, hard look at the plan and make sure that we are on the right track together. We’ll obviously keep that $200 million on the table, and then together we’ll see where and how much further we can go beyond that. The Speaker (Hon. Steve Peters): Supplementary? Mr. Norman W. Sterling: Premier, Metrolinx is the $17.8-billion public transit plan for central Ontario. The cost of that plan is borne by the province and the federal government alone. Property taxpayers in the GTA will not be required to share in that cost. The public transit plan for eastern Ontario is embodied in the $4.7 billion Ottawa transit plan. Premier, will you offer the same degree of support for this plan for eastern Ontario and your hometown of Ottawa as you have for Toronto and central Ontario? Hon. Dalton McGuinty: I appreciate the question from my colleague, but I think that if he takes a close look at the numbers, he’ll see that there are some additional costs which he has not incorporated into his question which are properly the responsibility of some Toronto area municipalities. Having said that, we have made it no secret whatsoever that we are absolutely committed to moving ahead with public transit in the city of Ottawa. We think it’s important not just for our economy and not just for the environment but for the quality of life of the people who are living there. I have also said that I don’t believe the $200 million will be adequate in the long term as we work together to develop a long-term vision and nail down a solid plan as we move forward. So, again, we’re delighted there’s a plan in place, delighted to finally receive that. We will now carefully consider that and look forward to moving forward together even beyond that. |