I thank the member for his question. It’s an important question, because the Finch West LRT will give people in the northwest part of the city of Toronto what they’ve been waiting for for a long time, which is a transit system that will offer more choices to travel on their own schedule.

Mr. Speaker, the Finch West LRT will connect the new Finch West subway station, on the Toronto-York Spadina subway extension, to Humber College. We’re talking about 11 kilometres of new, dedicated LRT, with 16 new surface stops, a below-grade stop at Humber College north campus and an underground interchange station at the TTC’s Finch West subway station. This also includes a brand new maintenance and storage facility for light rail transit vehicles.

This system will transform the community. Shovels went in the ground in 2018. The constructors are working diligently to deliver the system, and we look forward to having—

I thank the Leader of the Opposition for her question. We have been very clear, Mr. Speaker. Our government is focused on building out the most efficient and effective transportation network that Ontarians need and deserve. We’ve focused on building highways and roads and bridges and public transit to address the infrastructure deficit that was left behind by the previous Liberal government. We inherited a contract from the previous Liberal government that was signed back in 2011, and we are working within the confines of that contract to deliver on the Eglinton Crosstown.

The line is 98% complete. Testing is ongoing and the Crosslinx consortium is now completing all remaining work. This includes addressing all and any rectifications that are needed so that the line is reliable and safe for transit riders and transit operators to use when it opens for service.

Our government has been clear from the beginning. We want to make sure that the line is safe for all. We will not rush it. We will not interfere. When politicians interfere with transit projects, then the problems of the Ottawa LRT ensue. We have been very clear; we will get this done. We take responsibility—

GO rail expansion is a key priority for our government and we are committed to delivering on it. GO rail expansion, GO bus service, all of our GO Transit services are a core element of our transportation network. But when we put forward plans to provide these critical, essential services for Ontarians, the Leader of the Opposition votes against it.

Metrolinx is working closely with mayors of municipalities, with stakeholders, to understand what their needs are. We provide service updates on a regular basis to make sure that we can meet transit riders where their needs are. We will continue to listen to municipalities and to local transportation stakeholders, so that we can continue to deliver the service that they need.

Interjections.

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—

I thank the Leader of the Opposition for the question. But it is so ironic to hear the leader and members opposite ask about problems that are faced with the Eglinton Crosstown, because we brought forward a bill to this House in 2020 to address a lot of the problems related to a lot of those delays that were created that we saw in the Eglinton Crosstown, Mr. Speaker. It was a bill called the Building Transit Faster Act. It couldn’t have been more clear what the intention of that bill was. And what did the opposition do, Mr. Speaker? They voted against it.

So for the Leader of the Opposition to stand in this House and ask why we’re not building transit faster, I would ask her, why did they vote against that important piece of legislation so that we can avoid a lot of the problems with the Eglinton Crosstown, get shovels in the ground faster and build the transit that the city of Toronto and York region and Hamilton deserve?

And what have we seen? In 2019, the Premier introduced the most ambitious public transit expansion plan anywhere in North America. Since then, Mr. Speaker, we’ve seen shovels in the ground on the new Ontario Line, a line they voted against. We have seen significant progress on tunnelling on the Eglinton Crosstown West extension. The tunnel is halfway done. In Scarborough, we’ve seen significant progress on the Scarborough subway extension, and just a few weeks ago, we announced the RFQ for the Yonge North subway extension.

They claim to believe in and stand up for transit riders and for the people of the city of Toronto, York region and Hamilton, but at the end of the day, the Leader of the Opposition and her party always vote against it.

We’re building public transit. We are supporting it—

Interjections.

Mr. Speaker, that member opposite knows full well how important it is to make sure that people who are building a transit system have the time to make sure they do it right. That’s why our government called a public inquiry into what happened at the Ottawa LRT. That’s why, learning the lessons that Justice Hourigan put forth in his report on the problems that plagued the Ottawa LRT, our government is determined to make sure that with respect to the Crosstown we do it right and we make sure that we build this system properly and that it is safe for transit riders, that it’s safe for transit operators, and it will open when it is safe for all.

In addition to the well-known ideological opposition the NDP have toward building housing, they’re also opposed to building transit. They will find every excuse to not build transit. That’s why they voted against our subway plan. Even though they get up in this House every day asking for more transit, they vote against it when they have the chance.

We put forward a plan to address the transit deficit that we inherited from the Liberals, and they voted against it. They voted against building transit faster, which is actually hard to believe given the challenges that we are facing with the Eglinton Crosstown.

The legislation we’ve brought forward—the purpose of that is to address the mistakes of the previous Liberal government when they signed the contract in 2011 with Crosslinx. This is a contract we have inherited. We take responsibility for making sure that we get this done, but when we do that, we commit to the people of Ontario. We’re going to get it done and it is going to be safe for transit riders when it does open.

We have learned the lessons that the Liberals should have learned when they were in power. We have taken those lessons and we’ve put them in a piece of legislation. We put them as part of our subway plan for the GTA, but the members opposite voted against it. They would rather the people of the GTA sit on congested roads as opposed to building and riding on new subways and extended lines. That is unacceptable for the people of Toronto.

We’re committed to getting it done. We’re standing up for transit riders, and we’re standing up for taxpayers.

Let me say to the Leader of the Opposition we share her frustration with the delays with the Eglinton Crosstown. The litigation that was announced yesterday is another delay tactic by CTS, which is completely unacceptable.

People who live along Eglinton and businesses who are there have suffered greatly. But our government is focused on making sure the Eglinton Crosstown opens as quickly as possible but when it opens, that it is safe for transit riders.

Let me be clear, Mr. Speaker: Our government has been looking out for taxpayers since day one. That’s why when we brought forward our plans for subways for the GTA, we introduced legislation, the Building Transit Faster Act, to make sure we can get shovels in the ground faster, which reduces delays and also helps control costs. But the Leader of the Opposition and her party voted against our plan. They voted against building transit faster. We’re going to get it done for the people of Ontario, and we’re going to stand up for transit riders and taxpayers.

I thank the member opposite for the question.

I’ve always been clear: Our government is committed to getting this transit system built, but we want to make sure that it is safe for transit riders when that happens.

I am extremely frustrated and disappointed by the latest delay tactics that CTS announced just this morning. It’s another delay tactic that’s just meant to distract and delay from the work that needs to get done, and it is unacceptable.

But to be clear, construction is still ongoing, and CTS still needs to provide Ontarians with a credible schedule. The project has gone on long enough. Communities across the Eglinton road and across Ontario have been waiting for too long for this transit system to open. I’ve been very clear with Metrolinx that they need to do everything they can to force CTS to provide us with a credible schedule that will allow us to give Ontarians, once and for all, a credible opening date.

Our government has been learning from the Liberal mistakes. That’s why, when we put forward our subway plan for the GTA, we decided to do things differently. We brought in the Building Transit Faster Act, a piece of legislation that allows us to get rid of unnecessary delays. We break up procurements on our new projects—learning from Liberal mistakes of the past.

And what are Ontarians seeing for these changes? They’re seeing real, significant progress on the Ontario Line, on the Scarborough subway extension, on the Eglinton Crosstown West extension, and on the Yonge North subway extension, which are all projects that member and her party opposite voted against.

Mr. Speaker, we are committed to delivering transit.

We will make sure that CTS provides us with a credible schedule. We will make sure that it opens, and when it does open, that it is safe for transit riders.

Mr. Speaker, we are learning from the Liberal mistakes. We are doing things differently. And we do have shovels in the ground on our priority transit projects. We will get those done.

With respect to CTS, we expect them to fulfill the commitments they made to the people of Ontario in 2011 and to open a transit system that works and that is safe.

I thank my colleague for the question. Zero-emission technology is the way of the future, and that’s why last week I joined the Premier and my colleagues from Durham to announce the addition of two brand-new electric buses. This is a first for GO Transit.

Speaker, these new electric buses are a significant step forward for our government’s plan to be a global leader in clean transportation. Starting May 15, these buses will hit the roads on four routes in my colleague’s riding of Scarborough Centre. The buses will be identifiable by their unique exterior, which features a lightning bolt. Once on board, commuters will experience a quieter ride and will have access to USB chargers.

Thanks to the leadership of the Premier, we’re making it easier and greener to travel on GO Transit.

Despite the lack of interest or the opposition from the members opposite, our strong EV manufacturing sector that our government has been building, access to critical minerals that we have been spearheading and all-electric GO buses signal to the world that Ontario is a leader in electric vehicle technology. A clean transportation network is the future, and our government is at the forefront of this revolution every step of the way.

Mr. Speaker, I thank the member opposite for the question.

I think she knows very well that our government has been the first government to be there for the residents of Scarborough when it comes to transit. Our government, under the leadership of this Premier, put forward a plan for a three-stop subway extension in Scarborough for the first time. We did that not just on our own; we did it with city of Toronto support—city council supported it. Unfortunately for the residents of Scarborough, that member opposite and the entire NDP caucus voted against our plan for the residents of Scarborough.

We’ve been there for the residents of Scarborough with respect to transit, with respect to health care, and with respect to housing.

This is an infrastructure deficit we inherited from the Liberals that we are addressing—but the members opposite continually vote against.

The member opposite is correct; the Yonge North subway extension will transform the commute in York region, North York and beyond, extending the TTC’s Line 1 from Finch station to Vaughan, Markham and Richmond Hill. Rather than being stuck in gridlock, the people of York region will have access to fast and reliable rapid transit connecting them to where they need to go.

Madam Speaker, our government is focused on this project, and I am pleased to say that we have reached another milestone. Just this morning, I announced that our government has officially started procurement, releasing the request for qualifications for tunneling work. This builds on the important work that’s already under way at Finch station, where workers are making upgrades to accommodate future subway service. With procurement now under way, we are full steam ahead on this project, and the people of York region and Toronto have every reason to be excited.

Madam Speaker, we know our message is being heard around the world from the investments companies like Volkswagen are making in Ontario or the approximately 200,000 people who moved to Canada last year and now call Ontario home.

For too long, the hard-working people of York region waited for and they asked for fast access to subway service to get where they need to go, whether it’s to their job, to run errands, or to go catch a Jays game with friends in the city.

Madam Speaker, unlike the previous Liberal government, supported by the NDP, it’s this government that’s building the transit of the future.

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.

Thank you so much to the member from Etobicoke–Lakeshore for the question. I’m very happy to provide the update she’s requesting.

Just recently, our government reached another significant milestone on the Ontario Line. We released two requests for proposals to design and build new stations, the Pape tunnel and the elevated guideway. To break it down, the elevated guideway contract will help deliver a three-kilometre-long elevated guideway with emergency exit buildings and five above ground stations for riders. What’s more, the Pape tunnel contract will transition the Ontario Line’s track from above ground to underground, will deliver three kilometres of twin tunnels with stations at Cosburn and Pape, and will connect the all-new Ontario Line to the existing line 2.

While the NDP supported the Liberals who failed to build new transit lines, our government is delivering transit relief, and we are getting it done.

It’s true; after 15 years of Liberal neglect, Ontarians have a hard time believing that we actually can build transit in this province. But I am glad to let the member and Ontarians know that the Ontario Line is going to be delivered. Construction is already under way at Exhibition station and for the future Corktown and Moss Park stations, as well as in the joint rail corridor east of the Don River. Once complete, the 15.5-kilometre-long Ontario Line will enable nearly 400,000 trips each day, bringing much needed rapid transit to more GTA communities.

Speaker, to the member’s point: This game-changing project will benefit Ontario as a whole by supporting over 4,700 construction jobs each year during construction, by cutting overall fuel consumption by more than seven million litres a year, and by generating an estimated $10 billion to the local economy.

Under the previous Liberal government, the proposed UP Express was a relief line for them. Instead of building a true relief line—

I thank the member opposite for the question. We are all deeply concerned about the increased number of violent incidents on public transit in the last few weeks and all levels of government agree on the importance of ensuring that transit systems across the province are safe. And so, we remain open to continuing discussions with our partners on how we can work to achieve this.

I know that transit riders want to remain connected when they’re riding public transit. That’s why, in 2020, our government took steps to improve connectivity and implemented free WiFi on all GO buses and trains.

As the member opposite knows, the TTC is operated by the city of Toronto and, as such, the city of Toronto is responsible for finding a resolution with the telecommunication carriers. I encourage the city of Toronto and the future mayor to find a resolution on this matter as quickly as possible.

Mr. Speaker, we’ve been supporting public transit for years, especially throughout the pandemic. The province has given over $1.5 billion to the TTC to ensure that its system could remain operational throughout the pandemic. We work closely with the TTC and we’ve continued to urge them to find a resolution to ensure that riders on the TTC can have free WiFi as soon as possible.

I thank the member opposite for her question.

What I say to the people of her riding is that residents of Scarborough deserve the same level of transit as the rest of the city of Toronto, which is why our government has put forward a plan to have a three-stop subway in Scarborough, but that member opposite and her party voted against it.

Our government has put forward measure after measure to support transit expansion and the operation of transit in the GTA, but time after time, whether it’s Safe Restart funding or whether it’s capital projects for new transit in the city of Toronto, the members of the opposition consistently vote against it. They can’t have it both ways. Either they’re for more transit and they vote with us, or they’re just against it.

Throughout the pandemic, under the leadership of our Premier, we put more than $2 billion into the operation of transit systems across this province. Why? Because we know that transit is essential. During the pandemic, it was essential to getting our workers to and from home, to work safely. So we put billions of dollars. The number one beneficiary of our Safe Restart funding was the TTC.

We have been there every step of the way. But sadly for the constituents in the ridings of the members opposite, they all voted against that critical support that we provided for transit.

Mr. Speaker, we’re continuing to build transit in the city of Toronto, including—

Mr. Speaker, we’ve been clear. As soon as contracts are awarded, the values of those contracts are posted. They’re publicly available for anyone—for taxpayers and Global News—to examine as they wish.

What I know is, that member opposite and the Leader of the Opposition will do anything to make sure that we don’t build transit in the greater Toronto area. We’ve put out the largest transit expansion plan anywhere in North America, and that party voted against it. We brought forward measures to accelerate the delivery of transit, because we knew we had to address the transit deficit that was left by the previous Liberal government, who could not get transit built in the city of Toronto. We brought that forward. And what did they do? They all voted against it. It’s clear that this is why they are in opposition—because not only are they against transit; they’re against building it faster. It’s clear that they don’t even know how to get it—

In the early days of our first mandate, the Premier laid out our government’s plan to build badly needed transit in the greater Toronto area, and that includes the signature new Ontario Line.

Since those early days, we’ve taken our responsibility to taxpayers very seriously. That’s why our government passed, with no help from that member or the members of the opposition, the Building Transit Faster Act—because we know that time is money.

In addition to being able to deliver value for taxpayers, we also need to have a competitive procurement process, which is why our government decided to break up the procurement for the Ontario Line into three separate packages. As we refined estimates for those packages, they were commercially sensitive, but as soon as those contracts were awarded and have been awarded, they have been publicly posted online with their values. The South Civil has been valued at $6 billion, and a contract for the rolling stock, systems, and operations and maintenance has been valued at $9 billion.

The member opposite wants to talk about—

As I indicated in my previous answer, our government has provided over $2 billion of support for public transit systems. We have been there. We do it through the Safe Restart Agreement, but also through our gas tax funding, which we continue to give every year to public transit systems for operating budgets.

With respect to the Crosstown LRT, our government has been waiting for this system, just as everyone has, to open in a way that is safe and reliable. That is what is essential.

We have been supporting public transit since the beginning. We’re building more public transit to make sure that people can get where they need to go, and we’re doing it in a way that’s more efficient. We brought forward the Building Transit Faster Act to make sure that the delays that occur because of permitting and municipal service work can be coordinated with our construction work.

The member opposite and his party voted against the Building Transit Faster Act. They voted against our subway plan for the greater Toronto area, our support for GO expansion. They talk about supporting public transit, but, really, Mr. Speaker, they’re—

I thank the member opposite for her question.

During the pandemic, our government recognized how essential public transit is for Ontarians across the province, and so we were there to support municipal transit agencies to the tune of over $2 billion, and the Toronto Transit Commission was the largest beneficiary of that.

We are committed to supporting public transit. We know that the city of Toronto has been underserved by public transit for so long, and that’s why our government put forward the largest transit expansion plan in Canadian history—anywhere in North America.

But if the member opposite thinks that public transit is so essential, what she should have done is voted in favour of our subway plan instead of voting against, as did her entire party.

As the member notes, ensuring that people can get to work, home, to medical services when they need to is more than just a luxury, it’s an essential service. We’ve heard from municipalities that they need our continued support after the last few challenging years, and we’ve been there to help them every step of the way.

To further support municipalities like the city of Brampton, we’re providing a one-time additional top-up of $80 million included in this year’s funding through the gas tax program. This will allow Brampton to accommodate its growing population and its increasing ridership while supporting economic growth in the city.

With more people returning to public transit, now is the time to invest in this critical infrastructure. Under the leadership of Premier Ford, we’re getting it done.