Federal Transportation Minister John Baird apologized to Toronto Mayor David Miller this morning after Baird greeted the city's application for streetcar cash with a profane "f... off."
"Minister Baird called me this morning and apologized for his comments, and we agreed to work together to ensure that we find a way that Toronto can buy its new streetcars and create thousands of jobs in Thunder Bay and across southwestern Ontario,'' Miller told reporters this afternoon outside city hall.
The request for money to buy 204 new streetcars — the city applied under Ottawa's $4 billion economic stimulus fund — was shot down yesterday by Baird who was in Whistler B.C.
In an unguarded moment, Baird told aides that Toronto stood alone in not meeting the technical criteria for federal cash, yet was complaining about Ottawa dragging its feet.
"Twenty-seven hundred people got it right. They didn't. That is not a partnership and they're bitching at us," he said.
Then Baird said: "They should f--- off."
Miller said he believes the streetcars fall within the funding structure of Ottawa's program.
"If you look at the guidelines for the program, this fits perfectly," Miller told reporters. "We asked the province beforehand and they agreed."
He went on to say the benefits of the proposed streetcar purchase are "extraordinary'' because it would create thousands of jobs.
"We recreate a manufacturing industry that had been very damaged, and the federal and provincial governments will get probably hundreds of millions of dollars in tax revenue through the income taxes paid by the workers,'' Miller said.
Miller insisted the streetcars qualify as a "shovel-ready project.''
"We have a massive new program to build transit in Toronto, supported by the provincial and federal governments. You of course need the cars to run on it and we need to replace our streetcars.
"That's why it's the right kind of program for federal and provincial funding, and I'm quite optimistic we'll find a way to make sure the street car purchase occurs."
Toronto wants to purchase 204 new cars from Bombardier, to be built in Thunder Bay for $1.2 billion.
The proposed deal is set to expire June 27, and will die if no money is forthcoming from Ottawa and the province.
In Ottawa this afternoon, Baird said his outburst came "out of frustration" and acknowledged that he had called Miller to apologize.
He said he was "looking to the future."
Rhyming off a list of federal investments in GTA transit projects, he said that the "best is yet to come."
Earlier, several city councillors were critical of Miller for failing to properly sell Toronto's infrastructure request to Baird and Ontario infrastructure minister George Smitherman.
Councillors said today that a better sales job on Baird was needed because the request for streetcar funds initially didn't meet the rules that say the money must create local jobs this year and next.
Under the streetcar deal, vehicles would roll out of Bombardier's Thunder Bay plant from 2011 to 2018.
"If this were the one project we wanted to fund, it would have been important to speak to the minister in advance to ensure that this was the right project," said Councillor Karen Stintz.
"It certainly appears that that didn't happen, which is unfortunate."
Earlier, Smitherman had also expressed frustration with Toronto's single request for streetcar money, which differed from other municipalities that submitted a list of projects, Stintz said.
"With the streetcar contract, we've seen the province has been caught off guard. Now, the federal government has been caught off guard.
"Based on George Smitherman's comments a few weeks ago and now Minister Baird's comments, it appears the city didn't take all the steps it could have taken. And the mayor didn't take all the steps he could have taken to communicate that this was the one project that meant a lot to Toronto."
Councillor Denzil Minnan-Wong, who has sparred with Miller over fixing Toronto's roads, said the city would have had no difficulty finding projects that clearly qualify for the $300 million-plus in federal funds that Toronto is seeking.
That may be why Baird was frustrated, Minnan-Wong said.
"I think the language he used was clearly inappropriate and regrettable, but it also — I think — reflects a level of frustration over not being able to fund projects that meet the guidelines," he said.
"I think he (Baird) wants to invest money into the city of Toronto for programs and projects that qualify. It's very difficult to give the city of Toronto money when they submit a single application that doesn't meet the requirements."
