Mayor Rob Ford is going to Ottawa. For first time, the embattled mayor is going to the Big City Mayors’ Caucus and he’s hoping to come back with infrastructure cash.
Ford has shunned the gathering throughout his time in the mayor’s office and spent years criticizing councillors for attending any Federation of Canadian Municipalities conferences.
In the wake of the federal government announcing the new Building Canada Plan, Ford said he’ll be fighting to ensure “Toronto receives its fair share of this funding.â€
“When I go to the Big Cities meeting in Ottawa in a couple of weeks, I’m going to ask for money for housing, I’m going to ask for subway money — infrastructure money,†Ford said.
“You know I want to build the Sheppard line, the Finch line, the (downtown relief line). You know we have a huge housing backlog. You know we need money for bridges, roads, infrastructure. That’s the money I’ll be asking for.â€
The mayor argued Toronto is “unique to other major cities.
“I will be at the table asking for that money and I’ll be leading the charge there,†he said.
He made it clear Thursday he’ll be paying his own way when he goes to the caucus at the end of the month.
“I’m not going to use taxpayers’ money,†he said.
Asked why he’s going to the meeting now, Ford shrugged.
“We need money, that’s what we need,†he said.
Back in 2011, Ford balked at councillors complaining about him shunning FCM and the Big City Mayors’ Caucus.
Ford said at the time that he wasn’t elected to “fly around the world.â€
