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The federal government is ready to give Ottawa $1 billion for its light-rail plans, Orléans MP Royal Galipeau told Mayor Jim Watson in a letter Wednesday.
With an election due this fall and Tory poll numbers sagging along with federal finances, Conservative members of Parliament have been busily promising support for local projects from coast to coast.
But a billion-dollar transit pledge for Ottawa’s “Stage 2″ rail plan stands out from the libraries and marinas, highway interchanges and sewage systems. The city estimates it’ll cost $3 billion. The plan counts on each level of government covering a third and the federal government is promising to pony up.
“Our intent to contribute to Stage 2 reflects our understanding that Canada’s largest cities depend on public transit infrastructure to fight gridlock, reduce congestion for people and businesses, and support economic development,” Galipeau’s letter says.
The money will depend on agreements on specific projects, based on detailed applications the city hasn’t filed yet. Typically, funding from the provincial and federal government flows as a project hits particular milestones, so the Tories aren’t really committing to anything until several years from now.
But the promise of money means the city can push ahead with finer planning for the stage of rail construction to begin once the first phase of light rail, between Tunney’s Pasture and Blair Road, is done in 2018. The federal and provincial governments promised $600 million each for the first phase early on, then made their way toward written agreements through years of technical work.
Galipeau’s letter means the federal government has made much the same promise to the city the provincial government did with the pledge Premier Kathleen Wynne made to back Ottawa’s rail plans when she was running for re-election in 2014: the money is waiting for you, but we’ll need to see more specifics before we write you any cheques.
In that election, the Liberals were desperate to hold off a Progressive Conservative campaign that surged before faltering badly, and they saw swing seats in Ottawa’s suburbs in danger. The city’s Stage 2 plan, with its extensions to Bayshore and Baseline, south Gloucester and Place d’Orléans, was a big thing they could promise to help pay for if they were re-elected, and then-Tory leader Tim Hudak stumbled when he said (possibly by mistake) that a Progressive Conservative government wouldn’t do it.
This time, it’s federal Tories trying to hold onto their seats, especially ones like Galipeau’s in Orléans and two that will be open in Nepean.
Ottawa’s rail plans are backed by a unanimous city council, which makes the city look as though it has its act together. Especially compared to, say, Toronto, whose council is constantly undoing decisions it’s already made about subways and rail lines. Or Vancouver, where voters just decided against a sales-tax increase for a major transit expansion. Brampton has put off a decision on a new light-rail line that the provincial government is willing to fund completely.
Ottawa’s city administration is also familiar with public-private partnerships, which both the upper levels of government like (the first phase of rail is being built by one, funded by governments but run by a private consortium). Galipeau’s letter specifically urges Ottawa to work with the federal government’s “PPP Canada” agency as the city develops its plans.
Watson is on vacation, but in a written statement released by spokesman Brook Simpson he said he’s delighted by the promise.
“I am very proud of the work of all members of council that led to the unanimous approval of the Stage 2 LRT project by council, which strengthened our position to quickly secure this historic funding commitment from the government of Canada,” the statement said. “Today’s federal commitment is in addition to previous indications from Premier Kathleen Wynne and the government of Ontario that they also intend to support the project. I look forward to formalizing these funding commitments so we can move forward with construction in 2018.”
dreevely@ottawacitizen.com
twitter.com/davidreevely
查看原文...
With an election due this fall and Tory poll numbers sagging along with federal finances, Conservative members of Parliament have been busily promising support for local projects from coast to coast.
But a billion-dollar transit pledge for Ottawa’s “Stage 2″ rail plan stands out from the libraries and marinas, highway interchanges and sewage systems. The city estimates it’ll cost $3 billion. The plan counts on each level of government covering a third and the federal government is promising to pony up.
“Our intent to contribute to Stage 2 reflects our understanding that Canada’s largest cities depend on public transit infrastructure to fight gridlock, reduce congestion for people and businesses, and support economic development,” Galipeau’s letter says.
The money will depend on agreements on specific projects, based on detailed applications the city hasn’t filed yet. Typically, funding from the provincial and federal government flows as a project hits particular milestones, so the Tories aren’t really committing to anything until several years from now.
But the promise of money means the city can push ahead with finer planning for the stage of rail construction to begin once the first phase of light rail, between Tunney’s Pasture and Blair Road, is done in 2018. The federal and provincial governments promised $600 million each for the first phase early on, then made their way toward written agreements through years of technical work.
Galipeau’s letter means the federal government has made much the same promise to the city the provincial government did with the pledge Premier Kathleen Wynne made to back Ottawa’s rail plans when she was running for re-election in 2014: the money is waiting for you, but we’ll need to see more specifics before we write you any cheques.
In that election, the Liberals were desperate to hold off a Progressive Conservative campaign that surged before faltering badly, and they saw swing seats in Ottawa’s suburbs in danger. The city’s Stage 2 plan, with its extensions to Bayshore and Baseline, south Gloucester and Place d’Orléans, was a big thing they could promise to help pay for if they were re-elected, and then-Tory leader Tim Hudak stumbled when he said (possibly by mistake) that a Progressive Conservative government wouldn’t do it.
This time, it’s federal Tories trying to hold onto their seats, especially ones like Galipeau’s in Orléans and two that will be open in Nepean.
Ottawa’s rail plans are backed by a unanimous city council, which makes the city look as though it has its act together. Especially compared to, say, Toronto, whose council is constantly undoing decisions it’s already made about subways and rail lines. Or Vancouver, where voters just decided against a sales-tax increase for a major transit expansion. Brampton has put off a decision on a new light-rail line that the provincial government is willing to fund completely.
Ottawa’s city administration is also familiar with public-private partnerships, which both the upper levels of government like (the first phase of rail is being built by one, funded by governments but run by a private consortium). Galipeau’s letter specifically urges Ottawa to work with the federal government’s “PPP Canada” agency as the city develops its plans.
Watson is on vacation, but in a written statement released by spokesman Brook Simpson he said he’s delighted by the promise.
“I am very proud of the work of all members of council that led to the unanimous approval of the Stage 2 LRT project by council, which strengthened our position to quickly secure this historic funding commitment from the government of Canada,” the statement said. “Today’s federal commitment is in addition to previous indications from Premier Kathleen Wynne and the government of Ontario that they also intend to support the project. I look forward to formalizing these funding commitments so we can move forward with construction in 2018.”
dreevely@ottawacitizen.com
twitter.com/davidreevely
查看原文...
