Ontario may have to operate Toronto LRTs amid budget crunch: Documents

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Ontario might have to assume operations of two light rail lines in cash-strapped Toronto, Ministry of Transportation officials said in internal government documents.

The warnings about the Eglinton Crosstown and Finch West LRTs are contained in a transition binder for Prabmeet Sarkaria, who took over as minister in early September, and came as municipal and provincial officials look at options for a new fiscal framework for the city with a $1.5-billion deficit.

“Council is also considering indefinite deferral of the operation of the (LRT) pending any new funding arrangement or fiscal framework with the province that better meets the city’s transit needs,” said the documents, obtained by The Canadian Press through a freedom-of-information request.

“If there is not a new intergovernmental funding arrangement for transit, the province might have to consider different delivery options, including assuming operations of the (LRT).”

The TTC’s 2023 budget report to its board estimated an annual net operating cost for both lines of $106 million.

A spokesperson for Sarkaria didn’t directly address whether the idea is under active consideration, but pointed to a municipal-provincial working group.

“It is critical that we work together with the city to deliver on priority transit projects like the Finch West and (Eglinton) Crosstown LRT for the thousands of commuters who will rely on it each and every day,” Dakota Brasier wrote in a statement.

“The working group is looking at solutions that support our shared objective of getting the LRT lines open as soon as possible.”

All major construction on the Finch West LRT is expected to be complete by the end of the year, but the Eglinton Crosstown has faced significant delays.

It was originally supposed to open in 2020, but there is no current projected opening date despite it having been under construction for a decade. Phil Verster, CEO of provincial transit agency Metrolinx, recently said the contractor is still finding and rectifying issues on a week-by-week basis.

The working group has been tasked with providing recommendations by the end of the month on how to achieve the fiscal stability and sustainability of the City of Toronto, while avoiding new taxes and cuts to front-line services.

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The federal government also recently agreed to join the working group after pleas from Premier Doug Ford and Toronto Mayor Olivia Chow.

“We both invite your government to come to the table as a partner and collaborator in this new-deal working group given the significant fiscal room the federal government has available,” they wrote in a joint letter last month to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.

“Solving these challenges is necessary for the long-term economic success of Canada.”