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Increased infrastructure spending was a cornerstone of the Liberals' election platform - but how soon might help come for Toronto's transit and and how much might the city expect?
The federal government has pledged that $5bn of new money in each of the next two years will be split evenly between transit, green spending and social infrastructure. Trudeau has said this will be spent on "the unsexy things that governments hate to announce — recapitalization of infrastructure, maintenance, upgrades" and John Tory in a recent plea for resources said any initial money would go to address the TTC's backlog of repairs which he said amounted to $2.7bn.
Changes in the way the money is provided might be as important to Toronto as the money itself. Tory has asked that "eventually" federal money be provided directly to the cities instead of being funnelled through the provinces. The federal government will no longer pressure other levels of government to use public-private partnerships to build infrastructure, according to Amarjeet Sohi the the Minister of Infrastructure and Communities. He also acknowledged that many cities have been saying they cannot afford to pay a third towards major infrastructure projects as they have traditionally done (with the province and the federal government splitting the remaining cost). He said the government had been "listening very carefully" and "looking at different options" to distribute the money.
Funding that goes to other Toronto infrastructure projects may have an indirect effect on transit funding. Keerthana Kamalavasan, spokesperson for the mayor's office, said, "the City of Toronto already has more than $17bn in Council approved, unfunded capital projects from TCHC (Toronto Community Housing) repairs, Lower Don flood protection, and the George Street revitalization, to TTC station enhancements." If the federal government helps with some of those projects it could leave the city with more money to address transit issues.
National projects could also help Torontonians get around — VIA Rail is hoping for federal funding for the Toronto/Ottawa/Montreal rail corridor to replace its aging rolling stock and permission to raise private funding to have a dedicated right of way for passengers which would allow faster, higher frequency train operation.
The federal government will present the budget starting at 4 PM today.
