Speaker, my question is to the Premier.

People in Scarborough are once again feeling abandoned as the SRT is being decommissioned without an adequate replacement. The original plan was that the Scarborough RT routes would be converted to a dedicated off-street busway during the seven-year closure of the line. This would save riders 10 minutes compared to on-street service. However, this month it was reported that buses would continue to operate on-street, and even though council has voted to convert the busway, they lack the funding to do so.

Speaker, why is the government refusing to help the long-suffering residents of Scarborough?

Scarborough transit users already have some of the longest commute times in the city because the government has failed to provide the needed operating funding for the TTC. On top of that, regardless of what this government will say, with recent service cuts, guess which routes are most affected? In Scarborough—with increasing commute times once again for commuters.

Now this government is refusing to fund the $2.9-million investment necessary to ensure residents in Scarborough get the dedicated bus line and SRT replacement while they’re waiting for that subway.

So my question again to the Premier: Will this government commit to funding an adequate replacement service for the people of Scarborough?

Interjections.

Just earlier this week, a constituent of mine, Tonoy Saha, reached out. He’s a student from York University. He was 30 minutes late for his exam. Despite coming early for the bus, he waited for half an hour extra, and then he was 30 minutes late for his exam.

That’s just a small example of the reality in Scarborough, when it comes to transit, because of the delays we’re facing. And with recent cuts to TTC bus 905 and bus 9, we’ll have more overcrowding, more wait times and more delays, and it puts so many people in Scarborough at an unfair disadvantage, unlike others. This is because of the cuts that we are seeing from our government when it comes to transit.

My question is simple: What do you say to Tonoy and so many people who feel that they’re at an unfair disadvantage—and the fact that we’re not setting these people up for success?

Tonyo and many other students who wait for so many minutes, for hours for their buses, for their trains, would not be satisfied with that answer.

The experts, the advocates for transit are calling for more operating budget increase from this government. We are seeing an increase in violence in our TTC, in our transit system right now that is exacerbated because of the cuts. We need to invest and address the root causes of these problems.

My question is, will this minister and her government invest in the operating budget that was cut by the Liberals and now exacerbated by this government as well?