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Mayor John Tory's Toronto

WislaHD said:
KWT would lose Smitherman style.

Somebody of David Miller's calibre would have to run if there was any hope of a center or progressive candidate winning.
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Miller would be 64 in 2022... with no incumbent I imagine it would be a crowded field and he would be competitive.
 
What about Matlow,. His name is in the news a lot so has name recognition even if not your city councillor. He is not mine
 
torontologist said:
2022. She needs to win the hearts and minds of the upper middle class white folks who live along the Yonge Corridor to make a successful run, and John Tory has them in his pocket.
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But she's already done so, municipally, with the Rosedale contingent in her ward.

And re "KWT would lose Smitherman style", remember than Smitherman '10 did better than Chow '14. And I claimed that KWT could do better than Chow, so there.
 
ShonTron said:
She didn't bulldoze anything.
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She is the driving force behind the trail, over a lot of neighbourhood opposition. It's in the final design stage now, with the City refusing to change the alignment. The actual bulldozers will show up this summer, unless the rift between Tory and KWT is now so great that he axes it out spite.
 
AlvinofDiaspar said:
No one provincial will allow SSE (in any form) to be killed at this point given the amount of face invested in it.

AoD
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"provincial" being the key-word. We'll see when and if the Feds guarantee any more than $660,000 towards it. At some point, he who pays calls the tune.

Old news, but let's reiterate what's been said, and what hasn't happened, or is likely to:

Edit to Add: Tripped across this Googling on another aspect of the nascent 'Investment Bank', and lo and behold, Tory is quoted in words he might come to regret:
(pardon the length, to get the context of Tory's words, it can't be edited too much)

Federal budget 2017
Ottawa eyes more private cash in infrastructure push
Jacqueline Nelson
OTTAWA — The Globe and Mail
Published Wednesday, Mar. 22, 2017 8:00PM EDT
Last updated Wednesday, Mar. 22, 2017 8:00PM EDT

The federal government is ramping up plans to attract private-sector money to major infrastructure development while tightening the funding that new municipal projects are eligible for.

After pledging to spend more than $180-billion on infrastructure building and refurbishment through new and existing programs, Ottawa revealed an update to its investment targets in the 2017 budget on Wednesday. It also expanded on plans for the Canadian Infrastructure Bank, which will generate even more building in partnership with institutional investors from Canada and beyond.

One of the most significant changes in the budget is a clampdown on the amount of federal funding that new municipal infrastructure projects will be able to lock in – a maximum of 40 per cent per project for new public transit construction and expansion projects. That’s down from the 50-per-cent maximum that the government pledged to fund in last year’s budget for its first phase of projects.

The move is aimed at encouraging provinces to step in with more financial support for local projects. Under the Conservatives, infrastructure building was typically funded evenly between three levels of government, with the municipal, provincial and federal layers each taking one-third of the cost. The Liberal government shook up that model last year, pledging funding of up to 50 per cent for its first phase.

The infrastructure and housing details were welcomed by Canadian municipalities, who said their focus will now shift to encouraging provinces to match Ottawa’s money as part of a national infrastructure plan.

“While 50 per cent [federal funding] would have been lovely for phase 2, what really needs to happen now is the provincial governments need to step with a fair share – and ideally a matching share – so that property taxpayers in these local jurisdictions are not unduly burdened,” said Edmonton Mayor Don Iveson, who chairs the Big City Mayors Caucus of the Federation of Canadian Municipalities.

Mr. Iveson said his hope is that new public transit projects will be funded with 40 per cent each from Ottawa and the provinces, with municipalities covering the remaining 20 per cent.

“We can make that work,” he said.

Other mayors such as Vancouver’s Gregor Robertson and Toronto’s John Tory also expressed positive reactions to the budget and planned transit and housing spending.

But Mr. Tory also alluded to the challenge that some municipalities may have in agreeing on funding methods and needs with provincial governments. The Ontario Liberal government of Kathleen Wynne recently shut down Mr. Tory’s plan raise millions of dollars for Toronto through road tolls. The budget did not include a provision the mayor had called for that would have forced provinces to come up with matching funds for certain projects.

“Even greater fairness and effectiveness will be achieved if the Government of Ontario contributes to the amounts announced today,” said Mr. Tory, who is on a trade mission to India, in an e-mailed statement. “A true partnership involving all governments will be required to address the critical issues of housing and transit. It’s now time for the province to come to the table and make it clear that they too will fund these vital Toronto priorities.”
[...]
One of the infrastructure bank’s secondary roles will be to work with the federal government and Statistics Canada to track and share data on the demand, usage and performance of the country’s infrastructure. This new data will help determine how successful the next wave of infrastructure investments is.

The data may also be used to attract new institutional investors, which has been a major initiative of Finance Minister Bill Morneau.

Among the largest focus of infrastructure spending comes through the next wave of public transit projects, which are set to receive $20.1-billion in government investment over the next 11 years, as well as an additional $5-billion expected to flow through the Infrastructure Bank toward such projects. When the federal government is striking its bilateral agreements with provinces and territories on these projects, it will use a formula based 70 per cent on expected ridership and 30 per cent on population.
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http://www.theglobeandmail.com/repo...-cash-in-infrastructure-push/article34392164/

Two points: SSE is only funded so far from the Feds for $660,000. Tory presumes the rest of the (ostensibly 40% of total) is forthcoming. But why would the Feds do that? They do have to tread carefully politically, QP is begging for fiscal salvation on this, but...the Feds will defer to phase two of the grant process:

Point 2: "When the federal government is striking its bilateral agreements with provinces and territories on these projects, it will use a formula based 70 per cent on expected ridership and 30 per cent on population"

Tory is screwed...Is QP going to foot 80% of the still unknown final cost?

Further to the above, I'll add reference to some of the figures stated:
Federal funding for Scarborough subway in question

By Jennifer Pagliaro TorStarCity Hall reporter
Mon., March 6, 2017
[...]
At a regular meeting with Toronto-area MPs, Tory recently stressed that the federal government’s $660 million commitment should not be rolled into the new $20-billion infrastructure fund — a message Scarborough-Agincourt MP Arnold Chan said was communicated to the infrastructure minister and the ministry of finance.

“The Scarborough subway extension is fully funded by three levels of government, and will in no way impact our priorities or take away from Toronto’s priority projects for the second phase of the federal Public Transit Infrastructure Fund,” Tory spokesperson Don Peat said in an email Monday.

But Chan said that fund is being “rolled into” his government’s infrastructure plan and will no longer exist.

“We got that message very clearly, but, you know, keep in mind the previous (Tory) government made a series of announcements without actually putting funding allocations attached to this,” Chan said.

The federal funds were originally promised in writing by former infrastructure minister Denis Lebel under the Harper administration. In the 2013 letter, Lebel said up to $660 million would be set aside under a provincial allocation of the New Building Canada Fund.

On Monday, current Infrastructure Minister Amarjeet Sohi’s office, through spokesperson Kate Monfette, said they remain committed to $660 million in funding and that the New Building Canada Fund has yet to be depleted.

She did not respond to a question about whether there was a circumstance where the $660 million would be lumped into the new pool of infrastructure spending.

“We look forward to having more details to announce in the coming months,” Monfette wrote.

Details are expected in the upcoming federal budget announcement.

Officials in Tory’s office said it is their understanding the New Building Canada Fund commitment to the subway is to be allocated by the province after formal applications were submitted in 2014 — what has not yet been spelled out.

It was originally believed $3.56 billion in funding would be needed for a three-stop subway. In January 2016, the city changed course and approved plan to fund a one-stop subway and the 17-stop Eglinton East LRT — both projects were said to be possible within the same funding envelope. But with recent increases in the cost of the subway, the $1.6 billion LRT is at this point unfunded.

Tory said last week the city would request the provincial and federal governments help pay for the LRT. Neither government has committed to that funding.
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https://www.thestar.com/news/city_h...for-scarborough-subway-as-debate-resumes.html
 
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Private transit coming our way soon?

WATCH: Mayor Tory 'open to considering' Innisfil-style transit alternative

Toronto Mayor John Tory tells NEWSTALK 1010 he's open to considering an alternative transit arrangement like one between Innisfil and Uber.

The town's deal with Uber means that starting May 1, citizens will pay $3-$5 for a ride between key destinations like the local GO station or town hall.

Paul Pentikainen, a policy planner for Innisfil tells NEWSTALK 1010's sister station CTV Barrie the partnership is the first between Uber and a Canadian municipality.

"It's a way of looking at transit more cost-effective than running buses."

Innisfil estimates a bus route would cost the town $270,000/year. The Uber deal is expected to cost the town of 36,000 about $100,000 in its first deal.

Mayor Tory says if the objective is to move people, he is open to considering anything, including an arrangement like that.

"We have to open our minds to new ways of doing things," Tory told NEWSTALK 1010 Tuesday.

He says the city should look at the Innisfil example and see if there's an application that would work in Toronto.

"There are many other ways you could do the same thing," he added. "To me, it's not about private or public (transportation), it's about moving people."

It wasn't a flat 'no' from the mayor of Mississauga but Bonnie Crombie did not appear to be as receptive to the idea for her city.

"It 's certainly an interesting concept for Innisfil, a small community that doesn't have a developed transit line," Crombie told reporters. "I don't know that that would work in Mississauga but I'm certainly willing to look at anything that helps people get to work."

Ontario Transportation Minister Steven Del Duca sees Innisfil's arrangement as a sign of creativity and innovation when it comes to getting people around and he predicts more 'disruption' in the transportation realm over the next few years.
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http://www.iheartradio.ca/newstalk-...-innisfil-style-transit-alternative-1.2519248
 
I thought there was some type of legislation that prohibits private transit operators in Toronto? That's why initiatives like the Liberty Village shuttle were shut down.
 
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