“It’s a spit in the eye.”
—TTC Chair Howard Moscoe
What kind of message is the federal government trying to send to TTC riders about funds for transit, and especially to newly re-elected Mayor David Miller?
First, the transport ministry in Ottawa announced a smaller than expected portion of initial anti-terror funds would go to the TTC, and then the finance minister rebuffed Miller’s call for more money for Toronto.
Transport Canada announced earlier this week how much it was giving various transit agencies across the country for security measures, and out of $11 million for the Toronto area, just $1.46 million goes to the TTC in the first “round” of national funding. This compares to $5.3 million to GO Transit and $4.3 million for the Union Station transport hub.
Current TTC chair Howard Moscoe reacted harshly. “The TTC carries 85 per cent of all of the passengers in the GTA on its transit system. It’s a spit in the eye,” he said of the security grants. The TTC moves over 400 million passengers yearly, compared to GO’s 48 million.
Why is the commission’s share so small, especially if the TTC wants to spend $17 million for 2,500 security cameras throughout the system? Natalie Sarafian, press secretary for the federal Minister of Transport Lawrence Cannon, said regional and national safety committees made up of experts and law enforcements officials evaluated the proposals from transit agencies. “The bottom line is to get them equipped better for potential threats of terrorism,” she says. “Everything was assessed.”
On any other subject than security, we could delve deeper into the specific rationale for apportioning funds — but there is a concern that such public discussion makes too much information available.
However, the federal government is equally vague about how it will deal with funding regular transit projects. While running for mayor, both Miller and opponent Jane Pitfield said they would press Ottawa and Queen’s Park to direct more financing for Toronto’s infrastructure. In response to Miller’s recent call for sales tax revenue to be made possible by reductions in the GST, federal Finance minister Jim Flaherty said the mayor ought to “try to get his own house in order before he starts asking other” levels of government “to subsidize him.”
Asked by In Transit to clarify these comments, the finance ministry supplied an internet link to a speech by Flaherty, made last week in Toronto.
Is the federal government now making money available only after the City of Toronto undertakes some kind of fiscal or other reform? If so, it’s a mystery what kind of changes are required.
