Hamilton’s LRT cancelled

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Published December 16, 2019 at 8:54 pm

The province “announced” Monday (Dec. 16) that they were cancelling Hamilton’s contentious Light Rail Transit (LRT) project.

The province “announced” Monday (Dec. 16) that they were cancelling Hamilton’s contentious Light Rail Transit (LRT) project.

Caroline Mulroney, Ontario’s Minister of Transportation, was expected to make the surprise announcement at the Sheraton Hotel on Monday. At the last minute, however, the press conference was cancelled with little explanation as to why.

After the press conference’s abrupt cancellation, mayor Fred Eisenberger spoke to gathered media about his outrage over the situation and confirmed that the announcement was about cancelling the project.

“[It’s] a betrayal of the city of Hamilton,” he said. “That is not working in good faith with a partner. [It tells me] the province is not open for business.”

In a statement released by Mulroney after the scheduled press conference, she claims that the project will cost “five-times more than the previous government led us to believe.”

She goes on to claim that the Ministry of Transportation hired a third-party expert to provide a detailed costing of the project and it was through this process they found the actual cost of Hamilton’s LRT would like fall closer to the $5.5 billion range.

There is still $1 billion of provincial money committed to improving transportation infrastructure in Hamilton, Mulroney said in the statement.

In an effort to ensure the money is being put to its most effective use, Mulroney said, she announced plans to establish the Hamilton Transportation Task Force.

“The Task Force will report to me before the end of February with a preliminary list of alternative transportation projects that can be delivered quickly and in a fiscally responsible manner,” she said.

Hamilton’s council and mayor turned up for the announcement alongside dozens of angry Hamilton residents who showed up to voice their opposition to the potential cancellation of the massive project.

The news comes after an estimated $184 million has already been spent in the early stages of the massive project. Approximately $80 million of that has been spent on full or partial purchases of properties along the proposed LRT corridors.

The corridors would have run along Main and King streets, 14 kilometres, from McMaster University to Eastgate Square.

The entire project was put on hold in June 2018 after funding became uncertain when the province promised significant belt-tightening and placed a moratorium on the acquisition of property for this project.

Earlier this year, however, the province recommitted to their investment in Hamilton’s LRT project and lifted the moratorium. Since then, the project has been in the procurement phase.

There were three pre-qualified teams preparing proposals that detail how the project would have been delivered. Bid submissions were expected in Spring 2020.

Eisenberger said that more than 40 staff who were working on the project have been terminated effective Monday and that the tender process has also been terminated.

In a statement released by Eisenberger, he said that “the true cost of the project would have been finalized when the request for proposals (RFPs) were delivered in March 2020. Estimates are estimates. Talking about numbers ahead of the RFP is malpractice.

“It would have created hundreds of jobs, economic uplift, increased affordable housing, cut CO2 emissions drastically and built a City of Hamilton ready for the future. My thoughts are with the 40 individuals in the Hamilton LRT office impacted by this announcement.”

He goes on to say that the province’s bungling of the announcement shows how ‘unreliable’ they are as a partner and that despite being pleased that the province is still investing $1 billion in Hamilton’s transportation, “today’s announcement rollout is a poor way to do business and an irrational way to create a positive partnership moving forward.”

The NDP issued a statement Monday afternoon assuring constituents that they will “fight like hell” to save Hamilton’s LRT.

“There is no doubt the Liberal government dragged its feet and failed to get the LRT construction moving before turning the project over to Mr. Ford,” said Andrea Horwath, who is the MPP for Hamilton Centre.

“But we’ve seen this time and time again over the last 18 months: Doug Ford makes stuff up to justify deep cuts. It’s a betrayal — especially after Mr. Ford and Conservative MPP Donna Skelly repeatedly told Hamiltonians that they’d build this LRT.”

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