Statements made provincial transportation minister Glen Murray suggesting Hamilton taxpayers will get a free ride for a light rail transit system aren’t quite what they appear, says one of Murray’s cabinet colleagues.
On Thursday, Murray made an announcement that many in Hamilton took to mean the city’s planned LRT project would be funded solely from provincial dollars.
That announcement had some in Waterloo Region seeing red, questioning how Hamilton could get that deal when the province only pledged one-third of the cost for Waterloo Region’s LRT, even though both systems are expected to cost in the range of $800 million.
Catherine Fife, the NDP MPP for Kitchener-Waterloo, is one of those concerned. She says she’s not aware of any rapid transit projects in Ontario that have gone ahead without any municipal funding necessary.
Fife says any special treatment given to Hamilton should also apply to Waterloo Region’s LRT.
“Our priority at the local level is to ensure that we’re also getting a fair deal as far as the province goes,” she said.
Government house leader and Kitchener Centre MPP John Milloy says Waterloo Region is getting a fair deal, and Murray’s comments about Hamilton were misunderstood.
“What the minister of transportation said yesterday ... is that the people of Hamilton would not have to pay some sort of special provincial tax or surtax, just as the people of Waterloo Region don’t have to pay an extra tax or surtax to fund it,” he told CTV.
“Absolutely no decision has been made and in fact, it’s going to be a long time before we’re in a position to announce any kind of funding program (for Hamilton).”
Before plans for LRT in Waterloo Region were finalized, there was speculation the province would pay for the entire project, but that never came to pass and municipal taxpayers ended up on the hook for $253 million.
