AlvinofDiaspar
Moderator
From the Globe:
Deal reached on transit funding
Settlement means Ottawa will unlock one-third share of $1-billion agreement
JENNIFER LEWINGTON
From Thursday's Globe and Mail
February 14, 2008 at 5:31 AM EST
A prolonged spat that stalled $350-million in transit funding for Toronto has been settled, with the city, the province and the federal government each proclaiming victory.
The end to the impasse unlocks the federal government's one-third share of a $1-billion deal - with the province and the city as equal partners - announced in March, 2004, to mark the 50th anniversary of the Toronto Transit Commission's Yonge subway line.
The lengthy dispute over terms of the TTC deal made when the federal Liberals were in power was a symbol of the often sour relations between the city and the minority Conservative government.
In a statement released through a spokeswoman, federal Infrastructure Minister Lawrence Cannon declared: "We have a deal and that's in part due to this government's ability to work in the spirit of open federalism and in partnership."
His department is ready to make an official submission to Treasury Board next month, with no snags expected, meaning the money would be released several weeks later.
A spokeswoman for Ontario Transportation Minister Jim Bradley also confirmed an end to a dispute that centred on the size of Toronto's contribution to expansion projects of GO Transit, the province-owned regional transit system.
In a "memorandum of understanding" signed by the three governments for the TTC deal, the city reluctantly agreed to put up a maximum of $20-million a year for GO. But the province interpreted the commitment differently, demanding several million dollars more a year in escalating city payments.
A recently reached compromise still caps Toronto payments to GO at $20-million a year, as before, but extends the city's commitment for several more years.
The city-province dispute mattered to the federal government because it provides funds to GO under a different agreement. The less the city paid to GO, federal officials argued, the more shortfall Ottawa might have to pick up.
Although Ottawa held back on its share of the TTC deal, the city and the province each put up their one-third share to pay for projects covered in the agreement, such as new subway cars, streetcar upgrades and hybrid buses.
In the absence of $117-million in federal payments (the first instalment of the $350-million that should have come in the past three years), the city advanced the money itself assuming an eventual reimbursement.
In effect, the city incurred $5-million in interest expenses, money that will not be recouped from Ottawa.
_________________________________________________________________
Do you smell an election coming? I do.
AoD
Deal reached on transit funding
Settlement means Ottawa will unlock one-third share of $1-billion agreement
JENNIFER LEWINGTON
From Thursday's Globe and Mail
February 14, 2008 at 5:31 AM EST
A prolonged spat that stalled $350-million in transit funding for Toronto has been settled, with the city, the province and the federal government each proclaiming victory.
The end to the impasse unlocks the federal government's one-third share of a $1-billion deal - with the province and the city as equal partners - announced in March, 2004, to mark the 50th anniversary of the Toronto Transit Commission's Yonge subway line.
The lengthy dispute over terms of the TTC deal made when the federal Liberals were in power was a symbol of the often sour relations between the city and the minority Conservative government.
In a statement released through a spokeswoman, federal Infrastructure Minister Lawrence Cannon declared: "We have a deal and that's in part due to this government's ability to work in the spirit of open federalism and in partnership."
His department is ready to make an official submission to Treasury Board next month, with no snags expected, meaning the money would be released several weeks later.
A spokeswoman for Ontario Transportation Minister Jim Bradley also confirmed an end to a dispute that centred on the size of Toronto's contribution to expansion projects of GO Transit, the province-owned regional transit system.
In a "memorandum of understanding" signed by the three governments for the TTC deal, the city reluctantly agreed to put up a maximum of $20-million a year for GO. But the province interpreted the commitment differently, demanding several million dollars more a year in escalating city payments.
A recently reached compromise still caps Toronto payments to GO at $20-million a year, as before, but extends the city's commitment for several more years.
The city-province dispute mattered to the federal government because it provides funds to GO under a different agreement. The less the city paid to GO, federal officials argued, the more shortfall Ottawa might have to pick up.
Although Ottawa held back on its share of the TTC deal, the city and the province each put up their one-third share to pay for projects covered in the agreement, such as new subway cars, streetcar upgrades and hybrid buses.
In the absence of $117-million in federal payments (the first instalment of the $350-million that should have come in the past three years), the city advanced the money itself assuming an eventual reimbursement.
In effect, the city incurred $5-million in interest expenses, money that will not be recouped from Ottawa.
_________________________________________________________________
Do you smell an election coming? I do.
AoD
