Tory and Wynne working together on Scarborough Subway, SmartTrack rail plans
The Scarborough subway is going ahead as planned, and Mayor John Tory and Ontario Premier Kathleen Wynne made it clear they’re working together to make Tory’s SmartTrack surface rail plan happen.
The Scarborough subway is going ahead as planned, and Mayor John Tory and Ontario Premier Kathleen Wynne made it clear they’re working together to make Tory’s SmartTrack surface rail plan happen.
That was the word from Tory and Wynne following a Monday morning meeting — the first meeting that Tory has taken following his official assumption of the mayoralty Dec. 1.
"It was no accident that on the first morning of my being in office I came to Queen’s Park to meet with the Premier," said Tory at the Queen’s Park news conference. "I said I want to use every opportunity I have to work in partnership."
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Both leaders said they had a discussion on "substantive issues" of transit, housing and transportation — but did not come to any detailed resolution.
"We have our officials working together on how to integrate SmartTrack into the regional express rail and make sure that’s a reality as soon as possible," said Tory.
Wynne said she was encouraged by Tory’s willingness to work with other levels of government and said that the change in communications strategy from Tory’s predecessor former Mayor Rob Ford is welcome.
"If the communication is better then more gets done," said Wynne. "You can boil it down to money, but it’s more than that. How do we coordinate efforts? How do we make sure our priorities are aligned? That is what is critical at this junction."
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Later Monday, Tory continued to talk transit while meeting with city staff at the Scarborough Civic Centre.
He said that his new east-end deputy mayor Glenn De Baeremaeker would be a "champion" for the Scarborough subway to ensure that the project was completed.
"I am asking Councillor De Baeremaeker to be the champion of that so it doesn’t get bogged down," said Tory, who emphasized that his SmartTrack plan would also provide new stops in Scarborough on its way downtown.
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