TORONTO - Mayor John Tory could find out Thursday whether his SmartTrack sales pitch to Prime Minister Stephen Harper has paid off.
Harper will be in Toronto for a “significant” federal funding announcement at the TTC’s Hillcrest complex with Tory and Finance Minister Joe Oliver.
A senior federal government source told the Toronto Sun Wednesday night that Harper will be announcing a “significant infrastructure investment.”
The source went on to say that the funding “will provide relief for overcrowded transit corridors, connect Torontonians to each other and to major employment centres across the GTA, and further facilitate commercial flows through the region.
“Under Stephen Harper, our government understands that Canada’s largest cities depend on public transit infrastructure to fight gridlock, reduce congestion for people and businesses, and support economic development,” the source said.
The mayor’s office wouldn’t comment on the looming announcement other than confirming that Tory would be in attendance.
No one would confirm Wednesday that the feds would be committing to SmartTrack but Tory has been asking Ottawa to help fund his $8-billion transit plan since he swept into office. The plan relies on the city, province and feds all ponying up a third of the funding — around $2.6 billion each.
Last December, the Sun was the first to report that Tory met privately with Harper to pitch his SmartTrack plan in a meeting at Pearson airport just days after he was sworn in as mayor.
Harper in Toronto for transit announcement | Toronto & GTA | News | Toronto Sun
Flossy must have missed that one......lol
Harper will be in Toronto for a “significant” federal funding announcement at the TTC’s Hillcrest complex with Tory and Finance Minister Joe Oliver.
A senior federal government source told the Toronto Sun Wednesday night that Harper will be announcing a “significant infrastructure investment.”
The source went on to say that the funding “will provide relief for overcrowded transit corridors, connect Torontonians to each other and to major employment centres across the GTA, and further facilitate commercial flows through the region.
“Under Stephen Harper, our government understands that Canada’s largest cities depend on public transit infrastructure to fight gridlock, reduce congestion for people and businesses, and support economic development,” the source said.
The mayor’s office wouldn’t comment on the looming announcement other than confirming that Tory would be in attendance.
No one would confirm Wednesday that the feds would be committing to SmartTrack but Tory has been asking Ottawa to help fund his $8-billion transit plan since he swept into office. The plan relies on the city, province and feds all ponying up a third of the funding — around $2.6 billion each.
Last December, the Sun was the first to report that Tory met privately with Harper to pitch his SmartTrack plan in a meeting at Pearson airport just days after he was sworn in as mayor.
Harper in Toronto for transit announcement | Toronto & GTA | News | Toronto Sun
Flossy must have missed that one......lol
