Given Kathleen Wynne’s pledge to drop billions of dollars into transportation projects, particularly controversial public transit schemes, Kitchener-Conestoga MPP Michael Harris expects to have his hands full as the Tories’ transportation critic.
Already this week, Harris put Transportation Minister Steven Del Duca on the spot, accusing him of dodging questions about the Liberals’ high-speed rail plan between London and Toronto.
He predicts there will be a need for intense scrutiny of the government’s transportation plans, keeping an eye on spending and separating out the real projects from the potential “election ploys.”
The high-speed rail link appears to be in the latter camp, he suggests.
“They say they have a report supporting it, but we haven’t seen anything. There are experts who say the plan is not worth the napkin it’s written on,” Harris said Wednesday.
A day earlier, he pressed Del Duca to disclose the study the government claims supports the rail link.
“I asked the minister a very straightforward question at Queen’s Park today,” Harris said in a statement following question period. “Are the Liberals proceeding with their election commitment to invest in high-speed rail between London and Toronto? But for whatever reason, Steven Del Duca could not provide an answer and chose to continue withholding a government report the former Minister of Transportation Glen Murray said backed up his claims about the project.”
Declining to release the study prior to or during the election, the government finally said he would do so immediately following the election. So far, nothing, said Harris, calling the rail line a possible “election ploy,” a not unfamiliar tactic.
“I’ve spent the last three years holding the government’s feet to the fire on their broken promises – and that’s what they are, broken promises – and I’ll keep at it.”
Wynne’s Liberal government has pledged to spend $29 billion on transportation infrastructure over the next decade. Harris said he’ll push for accountability with every project, with an extra eye on those promised to his riding, including the new Highway 7 and improved GO Transit service.
“We can’t forget about highway infrastructure,” he said, pointing out the government’s focus on public transit in the GTA. Roads will be in greater demand, with work having to keep up with both population growth and economic need.
