Wynne makes final push for Newmarket-Aurora with transit talks

June 11, 2014 · 0 Comments

By Brock Weir

With what was then six days left in the provincial campaign, Liberal leader Kathleen Wynne made her first visit to Newmarket-Aurora with big promises for local transit users.

Meeting with members of York Region Transit on Newmarket’s border with East Gwillimbury, Wynne was accompanied by Newmarket-Aurora Liberal candidate Chris Ballard and Loralea Carruthers, candidate for York Simcoe where she announced significant investments in the transit systems serving the Greater Toronto and Hamilton Area.

$29 billion would be divided up into two funds — $15 billion for investment in transit within the GTHA and $14 billion for roads, bridges, transit and other infrastructure elsewhere in Ontario.

These plans include expansion of all-day, two-way GO service, and the expansion of the Yonge North Subway into York Region.

“They understand gridlock is choking the vitality of our city and region,” said Wynne of her local candidates. “It frustrates us, stresses people out, keeps people away from their families, and stifles productivity. The importance of making these investments is nowhere clearer than in this Region.

“We understand in order to deal with that challenge, we must make the investments necessary in order for Ontario to move forward. In order to do that, we have to have a clear, Regional perspective. The plan that we have put forward will mean that everyone can fully benefit from living in the GTHA.”

Connectivity between York Region and the rest of the GTHA is very important, she added, as the reality is such that people are no longer simply travelling into Toronto to work. People work all across York Region and traffic bottlenecks can be found in nearly every direction “at all times of the day.”

“It means no second-class citizens,” she said. “It means no poor cousins. It doesn’t mean investing in one area and not in another. It means that everyone has to be able to fully participate in this great Region.”

A vote for the PCs, she claimed, would take money out of projects with a wider scope and refocus that specifically on projects within Toronto. That, she said was “wrong-headed” and would “perpetuate the divisions” between cities and suburbs, urban and rural.”

“That is not how we build one region or one Ontario,” said Wynne. “Those who have access to reliable transit and those who don’t shouldn’t be pitted against one another. We need to make sure there is accessibility. Our approach sees one Region where everyone benefits and linking GO buses to GO trains and Viva buses to the TTC, to YRT, that is what needs to happen in this Region.

“If we miss the opportunity to invest in transit and this region, it would really be letting down generations to come because, the fact is, that for a number of decades there has not been the investment that we need in infrastructure in this province, including the GTHA. Now is the moment we need to continue. We have made investments, including $9 billion in GO Transit. If elected, we are going to continue to make those investments working with municipalities.”