As I’ve said before, I want to assure Ontarians that the Eglinton Crosstown construction continues to make progress. Currently, the project is 98% complete. But, as I have said before, Mr. Speaker, politicians should not interfere in the timing and the opening of transit projects. When that happens, we see that transit riders are left stranded. The Ottawa LRT is a prime example of that, Mr. Speaker.

But you know, Mr. Speaker, the Leader of the Opposition stands in this House and asks about why we can’t get the Eglinton Crosstown built when her own party, when it had the chance to vote in support of it 10 years ago, declined to do so.

The NDP continues to vote against transit. They vote against subway expansion, they vote against new LRTs for the city of Hamilton and they vote against building transit faster.

Our government will continue to deliver for the people of Ontario despite the NDP and their opposition to everything we do.

Interjections.

She thinks that the Ontario Line, which will take 28,000 cars off the road every single day, is bad for Ontario. She says that the largest transit expansion anywhere in North America, which will deliver a new three-stop subway extension for the people of Scarborough, an Eglinton Crosstown West extension and a Yonge North subway extension as well as a new LRT for the city of Hamilton—according to the Leader of the Opposition, that’s bad for Ontario, and she will do everything she can to stop it. She votes against it every single time.

Mr. Speaker, a transit plan that united, for the first time in Canadian history, four levels of government—

Mr. Speaker, I say to the Leader of the Opposition, if she wants transit, then she should vote in favour of it. What the Leader of the Opposition needs to do is pick a lane.

I’ve made it very clear that our government is focused on making sure that the Eglinton Crosstown LRT opens, so that it is ready for commuters as soon as possible. But our number one priority is that when it opens, it is safe for commuters and it is safe for transit operators. Mr. Speaker, that is the number one lesson that we learned from the public inquiry into the Ottawa LRT.

I have made my expectations clear to Metrolinx. I expect them to get a credible schedule from CTS as soon as possible. But Mr. Speaker, safety is our number one priority, and we will not waver from that. It is essential that the service is safe for everyone to use. We are focused on getting it done, and we will.

Mr. Speaker, our plan was endorsed by city council, by York region and by the federal government, who recognizes our plan as so nationally significant that they agreed to fund 40% of the cost of our GTA and Hamilton transit plan.

The members opposite stand up in this House and claim to be defenders of transit, but when it actually comes to voting in favour of it—whether it’s for operational support during the pandemic, which they couldn’t bring themselves to support, or if it’s new lines that are—

To the member opposite, I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: Frustrations with respect to the delays on the Eglinton Crosstown are more than understandable, especially by those who live along the line and the businesses that have been impacted.

This contract has been in place for over a decade and our government is very focused on making sure that we get the system open as soon as possible. I would very much like to be able to stand here today and provide a date to give the people of Toronto an idea of when this will open, but unfortunately, Madam Speaker, we are working with a contractor who has to provide us with a credible schedule. It is essential.

My number one priority as Minister of Transportation is to ensure that our transportation network is safe and reliable for everyone to use. Whether it’s a bridge or a road or a transit system, it must be safe. So while I would like to be able to provide a date, I cannot do so until the contractor provides us with a credible and reliable schedule. As soon as they do that, we will provide a date.

As Minister of Transportation, my commitment to the people of Ontario is that we will deliver a system when it is safe and reliable to use. Madam Speaker, it is important that we get this right. We have been transparent with the people of Ontario. We are focused on making sure that the system is safe. More importantly, going forward, we’re learning the lessons from Ottawa, we’re learning the lessons from the Crosstown and we’re moving forward with our priority projects in a way that’s different. Unfortunately, the members opposite voted against that, they voted against—

Mr. Speaker, I understand the frustration that community members feel with respect to project delays on the Eglinton Crosstown LRT. It’s a project that we inherited from the Liberals, and from the beginning, unfortunately, they mismanaged the project.

Our government has been committed to doing transit differently. We brought forward legislation, the Building Transit Faster Act, that the opposition unfortunately voted against.

Mr. Speaker, the member opposite knows better than almost anyone in this House that there are risks associated with rushing a project. Transit riders deserve a lot better than the experiences of the Ottawa LRT.

That’s why our focus has been—and I’ve been clear on this since the beginning. Our focus is making sure that the crosstown opens as soon as possible, but that when it does, it is safe and reliable for transit riders.

With respect to the specific issue on the Sloane platform, repairs are being made on a section of concrete that was identified through Metrolinx’s very strict quality control and inspection process, and there are no additional costs required to fix this platform.

What people of Toronto don’t need are politicians forcing a system to open before it is ready. That is what happened in Ottawa when the mayor of Ottawa demanded that they shorten the testing period. And then what happened? Derailments. Transit riders were stranded and couldn’t get to work and couldn’t get home.

We will not rush a system to open before it is ready. Transit riders deserve better, and that’s what they will get under this government.

I thank the member for the question. The violence that we are seeing on the TTC is unacceptable. Transit riders and transit workers deserve the right to feel safe as they’re working and riding on the TTC.

But, Mr. Speaker, we have been there for the TTC. For the last few years we’ve provided over a billion and a half dollars’ worth of funding. In the last year alone, through the Safe Restart phase 4 program, we provided almost $350 million to the TTC, and through our gas tax funding, over $180 million. These are dollars that go directly to the TTC to spend in any way they need to, whether it is on operational issues or on safety issues.

What the people of Ontario need to know and what the TTC riders and TTC workers need to know is that when our government put forward the funding to support the TTC throughout the pandemic and beyond, the members of the opposition voted against it.

I’m glad to hear that the member opposite understands that this is also a public safety issue. There’s a mental health component and a public policing and public safety issue. When the cameras are on, the members opposite get up and do a great job of grandstanding, but when it comes time for voting for the measures that will actually help, like Safe Restart funding, like gas tax funding and like funding our police services, the members opposite consistently vote against it.

The member from Ottawa Centre—not the TTC, but to support funding in his own city—supported a motion at Ottawa city council to defund the police. The member from Toronto Centre moved a motion when she was city councillor—

Ontarians deserve a transit system that is reliable and safe to use, and right now, our focus is on ensuring that the Eglinton Crosstown is safe when it is complete. Speaker, we’ve learned from the experiences in Ottawa with the Ottawa LRT that you cannot rush a transit system to open before it is ready to do so.

The project is currently in one of its most critical phases that will inform with greater certainty exactly when we can say that it will be complete. But progress has been made. We’re seeing major intersections along Eglinton open, including Mount Pleasant and Brentcliffe Road. This is good news for businesses, for residents, for commuters.

We know this is frustrating. That’s why our government has provided funding for businesses that have been affected. But, Mr. Speaker, let me be clear: We are focused on getting it open as soon as it is safe to do so.

Interjection.

Mr. Speaker, I have said since the beginning that I understand the frustration and we are working very hard—Metrolinx is overseeing the projects—to ensure that it opens in a way that is safe for transit riders. That is what Torontonians deserve. And from the member opposite who knows how important it is to not rush a transit system to open before it is ready, it is ironic that he is asking such a question. I wonder if he has actually read the recommendations and the report that came out of the public inquiry into the Ottawa LRT.

Mr. Speaker, we are focused on make sure that Torontonians get the transit system they deserve, even though the members opposite keep voting against it.