From: brewnoser2@gmail.com   
      
   Globe and Mail -  June 19, 2015   
      
   Harper's pledged funding for Toronto's SmartTrack draws criticism   
      
      
   Federal cash a long way off, private partners would be needed and the proposed   
   line in Toronto hasn't even been designed yet   
      
   The federal government's pledge of up to $2.6-billion for commuter rail in   
   Toronto is being promised from a fund that hasn't yet launched, leaving many   
   unanswered questions as to how Ottawa will contribute to Mayor John Tory's   
   SmartTrack plan.   
      
   Mr. Tory said he wants his proposed SmartTrack line to be in place within   
   seven years . . . . .     
   Ottawa says the money will come from a new Public Transit Fund announced in   
   the budget, but that fund is based on financing projects over 20 to 30 years   
   which makes it unclear how long it would take for the city to get the promised   
   cash.   
      
   A spokesperson for Finance Minister Joe Oliver, who is responsible for the new   
   fund, said Friday that the amount would be transferred "over a long period of   
   time, to be negotiated with the City of Toronto."   The full details of the   
   new plan won't be    
   announced until the fall.   
      
   "As the announcement [Thursday] suggested, funding is conditional on receiving   
   and approving an application," said Mr. Oliver's spokesperson Nicholas   
   Bergamini.   
      
   SmartTrack is an $8-billion commuter rail plan that would connect lands near   
   Pearson Airport to downtown Toronto and Markham.   The Ontario government has   
   already said it will support the project but Toronto City Council has not made   
   a final decision.   
      
   Prime Minister Stephen Harper said Thursday that he was "very optimistic" that   
   council will approve the project given Ottawa's pledge. But the lack of detail   
   from Ottawa has opposition MPs and some on city council dismissing the   
   announcement as a    
   political promise of money that would be many years away.   
   ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^   
      
   "This government has set a record for announcing transit money that may or may   
   not ever materialize," said Councillor Gord Perks, a frequent critic of the   
   mayor.  "They've committed to a subway in Scarborough that may or may not ever   
   get built, and now a    
   SmartTrack proposal where we don't even have the engineering drawings and   
   don't know if it will work."   
      
   He added that Toronto city council still has to vote to approve its own share   
   of SmartTrack funding, and that a number of councillors - himself included -   
   have concerns about a part of the plan that requires building a new stretch of   
   track in the city's    
   west end.   
      
   Mr. Perks is also concerned about the federal government's requirement that   
   the projects have a private sector partner.   
      
   According to the 2015 federal budget, the Public Transit Fund would not start   
   until 2017-18 when it will be worth $250-million.  It would then ramp up to   
   $500-million the next year and an ongoing amount of $1-billion per year   
   starting in 2019-20.   
      
   However the budget also indicated that the fund would be based on a new way of   
   transferring funds to municipalities that involves smaller amounts over   
   periods of 20 to 30 years, allowing cities to borrow against the promised   
   revenue    
   ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^   
   stream.   
      
   Thursday's announcement included new details about how the fund would work.    
   Ottawa has agreed to requests from municipalities that the federal share of   
   project funding increase from 25 to 33.3 per cent.     
   However a private partner is mandatory in order to qualify for funding.   
   ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^   
      
   "This is transit by the seat of your pants," said Beaches-East York MP Matthew   
   Kellway.   The NDP's critic for infrastructure and urban affairs said the   
   federal government needs to get away from picking and choosing projects and   
   should simply transfer    
   more infrastructure money to municipalities.   
      
   Trinity-Spadina Liberal MP Adam Vaughan said Ottawa should be working with   
   cities and the province on a comprehensive approach to transit.   
      
   "It's a typical election announcement," he said. "It looks like $2.6-billion   
   but you show me a transit project that is costed before it's designed."   
   ______________________________________________________   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)