Toronto City Council has decided to ask the Ontario government to look into ways to fund the remainder of a transit project previously pitched by former Mayor John Tory.
The SmartTrack station program, a centerpiece of Tory's 2014 mayoral campaign, initially promised to build 22 stations along existing GO Transit rail corridors by 2021.
Over the past decade, the council has whittled transit projects to five transit stations along three GO Rail corridors: East Harbour, Bloor-Lansdowne, St. Clair-Old Weston, King-Liberty and Finch-Kennedy.
Toronto Mayor Olivia Chow told reporters on Wednesday that the cost of the project was increasing.
“Costs have gone up quite a bit, and we can't go beyond that budget envelope because we can't afford it,” Chow said. “We have limited funds. It's not my style to spend money we don't have.”
At its Wednesday meeting, after much debate, council voted in favor of a staff recommendation that the city prioritize three stations — East Harbour, Bloor-Lansdowne and St. Clair-Old Weston — and the province find ways to fund the rest. Two stations — King-Liberty and Finch-Kennedy — at no cost to the city.
The initial cost of the project for 22 stations was $8 billion, city staff told the council. The current budget for the project is $1.689 billion, staff said in a report. Of that, $878 million will come from the city, $585 million from the federal government and $226 million from the Ontario government.
The city manager will therefore ask the province to consider increasing its contribution to the SmartTrack transit project to match or exceed the city's contribution to ensure the remaining two stations are built. Deputy Mayor Jennifer McKelvey's motion passed by council said the province could seek “funding opportunities” with the federal government.
McKelvie said she is disappointed with the way the project is being managed and will ask for a third-party review of costs and cost overruns.
'The worst deal possible,' says one councillor
Many councilors expressed frustration with the project because it was initially envisioned by the Tories, and the fact that it is still largely in the design stage even though it was proposed 10 years ago. A SmartTrack technical program update provided to the council indicates that initial work has been completed at each of the five stations.
Count. Alejandra Bravo, who represents Davenport, Ward 9, said the city council lacks transparency when it comes to the full cost of the transit project.
“This is probably the worst deal. It's not SmartTrack. PastTrack is what one person suggested, but I think it's time we face that this is a failure that has had real physical consequences,” Bravo said.
Count. Ausma Malik, who represents Spadina-Fort York, Ward 10, said the council believes the project is a provincial project that improves GO Transit lines.
“We also have to be clear that our previous mayor locked us into this bad deal, paying more than half the cost of a provincial project of transit infrastructure that we will not own or operate,” Malik said.
Experts should plan transit projects with community input, according to Couns. Jamal Myers, who represents Scarborough North, Ward 23.
“This is a showcase for why politicians don't plan for transit expansion,” Myers said.
At least one councilor wanted to see the city scrap the plan altogether.
Count. Mike Colley, who represents Eglinton-Lawrence, Ward 8, brought a motion to begin the process of ending the city's support for SmartTrack and the future funding of SmartTrack stations. The motion cited “out-of-control cost overruns” and “the city's loss of confidence in Metrolinx's ability to deliver major projects on time and on budget.” However, other councilors persuaded him to withdraw the proposal.
Colle was told it would still be worthwhile to move forward with the project if the province increased its financial contribution and the stations benefited the surrounding communities.
'Not the best deal for the city,' says another councillor
Count. Josh Matlow, who represents the Toronto-St. Pauls, Ward 12, has been a frequent critic of SmartTrack.
Earlier Wednesday, Matolo told reporters that the city is on the hook for about $900 million for the project at a time when it desperately needs cash to maintain other parts of its transit system.
“This is such a betrayal of the trust of Torontonians. SmartTrack has proven nothing more than a dishonest branding exercise in John Tory's 2014 mayoral campaign,” said Matlow.
Count. Paula Fletcher, who represents Toronto-Danforth, Ward 14, said she feels the return on the transit project diminishes with each passing year. His ward includes the proposed East Harbor station.
“I think it got a little out of control. We had a lot of stations to start with. We invested a lot of money to start. Now we have fewer stations than we started with and more investment than we started with.
“It's not the best deal for the city.”
