Toronto’s Hopes For Provincial Transit Funding Plan This Year Are “Wishful”: McGuinty

Number crunchers at City Hall shouldn’t keep their hopes up for receiving transit cash from the province any time soon.

After the city unveiled its proposed $9 billion operating budget Tuesday Mayor David Miller outlined his goal of sealing a deal with Queen’s Park for sustainable transit funding by the end of the year, but  Premier Dalton McGuinty dashed any hope of immediate help.

The province is working on solving its own financial troubles. Ontario is expected to post a record $25 billion deficit this year and McGuinty said he’s in no position to help out the TTC.

Any extra money kicking around at Queen’s Park will go toward provincial priorities, including jobs and the economy, McGuinty said, adding that the prospect of working out a transit funding deal with Toronto by December is “wishful”.

The premier did say he would be willing to talk about the idea in the future.

Miller said Tuesday he wants “permanent sustainable transit operating funding” in place starting in 2011.

“It’s a fact the city needs the province to return to the sustainable transit operating funding that was in place for decades prior to amalgamation,” Miller said Tuesday.

“Transit is too important to be financed with ad-hoc, year-end or one-time funds, and the TTC is too important to the future of Toronto to allow it to suffer uncertain funding.”

Top Stories

Top Stories

Most Watched Today