Ontario’s official Opposition is raising concerns the Ontario government might be considering cutting funding for a long-planned LRT line down Hurontario Street in Mississauga.
The planned route would stretch 20 kilometres running north-south from the Port Credit GO station to the Gateway Terminal in Brampton. The $1.5-billion project is scheduled for completion in 2022.
In a release on Tuesday (Nov. 13), NDP transit critic Jessica Bell said a recent meeting with the Ontario ministry of transportation didn’t inspire confidence in the project’s future.
“After a concerning meeting with ministry representatives where they refused to end rumours that the government is planning to cancel the planned Hurontario LRT and GO Electrification, I gave Doug Ford’s government another chance to set the record straight,” said Bell in the release.
“Instead of clearly saying that these projects are still on the Ford government’s agenda, the minister responded with vague platitudes that didn’t even reference the projects that I had clearly asked about,” she added.
Bell is referring to an exchange earlier in the day at Queen’s Park with Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing Steve Clark. Bell questioned the government about its commitment to the Mississauga LRT line and a proposed GO train electrification project across the province.
“The Hurontario LRT is a transit project that has a lot of community support. During the election, the Premier promised to build it. Yet when we met ministry of transportation staff, they refused to say whether this government is moving ahead with the Hurontario LRT,” Bell said during question period.
“Is this government going to build the Hurontario LRT and provide transit relief to residents?” she asked.
While Clark said both the premier and the PC government are committed to transit in general, he did not specifically confirm his government’s commitment to the Mississauga Hurontario line.
“As has been said in this house many times, our premier and our government’s commitment to transit is second to none. We’re going to continue to work with our partners. I appreciate the input that the honourable member has put on the floor today and I look forward to engaging her and the minister further on this matter,” he responded.
Bell called that response a confirmation of the NDP’s concerns about the project.
“Sadly, I and the people of Ontario are left to conclude that these projects are indeed on the chopping block,” she said.
While the Opposition NDP is clearly concerned for the line’s fate, the Ford government has not announced any plans to cancel the funding or change the scope of the project.
Mayor Bonnie Crombie told the Mississauga News neither she nor city staff have received any indication the government is planning to axe the project.
“There has been no indication from the Ontario government that the project is not proceeding. Premier Ford committed to funding the Hurontario LRT and other transit projects during the provincial election campaign. I look forward to working with the premier and his government to move Mississauga forward and see through this transformative project which will create jobs and get people moving across Mississauga and the GTA,” she said.
A request for comment from the Ontario Ministry of Transportation was not answered by the time of this publication.
