Council Approves $710 Million Deal For New Subway Cars
Posted September 26, 2006 12:00 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
Toronto ordered 234 new subway cars Monday, but the $710 million contract is the source of as much controversy as it is excitement.
The deal with Thunder Bay, Ontario plant Bombardier was approved at city council by a vote of 24-18. Seven long hours of debate preceded the final tally, which will have to be finalized by both the federal and provincial governments.
The Toronto Transit Commission also has to formally award the contract to Bombardier before anything can become official.
The obvious upside of the deal in local terms is that it’s expected to provide roughly 300 jobs to Canadian auto workers over the next five years. About 150 of those jobs would go to Toronto, mostly to suppliers. In addition, the deal is expected to generate about $130 million in taxes for Ontario and the federal governments.
“This gives the plant a solid base for five years from which we could bid for other jobs,” said Paul Pugh, president of Canadian Auto Workers Local 1075.
It will also boost the plant’s workforce to just over 1,000 – an employee total they haven’t reached since 2003.
Of course nothing happens in council without some debate, and the majority of the opposition to the deal came from councillors upset the contract is sole-source rather than being opened to competitive bidding.
“There were a lot of accusations, questions and a lot of misinformation,” said TTC chairman Howard Moscoe.
“We’re going to get a great product. I’m looking at this as a good deal for the Toronto taxpayers and Thunder Bay…the more people we can keep employed in this province, the better it is for all of us.”
Each new car will cost approximately $2.2 million, which adjusted for inflation is $200,000 cheaper than the most recent subway car order from close to 15 years ago.
A contract in Montreal between Bombardier and the Montreal Transit Corp. valued at $1.2 billion sparked similar controversy.
