Transcript:

MPP Andrea Hazell: My question is to the Minister of Transportation. The TTC is falling apart under his watch. It is in shambles. Delays are rampant, streetcars get stuck in unbearable traffic and slow zones on the subway are doubling trip times. After six years of neglect by this government, riders have lost faith in their public transit. This is not just an issue for residents of Toronto. People from across the GTA rely on the TTC to get to work and to their families on time.

This government is letting some of the busiest transit lines fall apart, neglecting existing infrastructure at the detriment of all who use our transit. This government literally allowed the Scarborough RT to fall off the tracks and risk the lives of transit riders.

Mr. Speaker, through you, will this minister give the TTC the financial support it needs?

Hon. Prabmeet Singh Sarkaria: Mr. Speaker, I don’t even know where to start on that. I can’t believe that question, coming from the Liberals, who did absolutely nothing for 15 years when they held the balance of power.

But under the leadership of Premier Ford, places like Scarborough are getting the Scarborough subway extension—a place where those Liberals talked a big game but did absolutely nothing and left the people of Scarborough with no options. We’ve got shovels in the ground, but that’s not it. When the city came to the province for help, it was Premier Ford who struck a historic deal to support the TTC and the record expansion of public transit that we’re having in the city of Toronto. The Ontario Line: 15 kilometres of a new transit line that is being introduced by this Premier, under his leadership—while the Liberals did nothing to build Ontario.

We will take no lessons from them, Mr. Speaker. It’s because of this Premier, our government, the people of Scarborough, Toronto and across this province—

The Speaker (Hon. Ted Arnott): Thank you. The supplementary?

MPP Andrea Hazell: It is always the same excuse from this government, but they have the formula entirely backwards. It’s like building a new extension on a house while its very foundation is rotten and crumbling.

The provincial funding formula is not tied to inflation, so the TTC is getting the same amount of funding as it did in 2007. The Conservatives are asking the TTC to do more and more with less, and it is transit riders who are paying the price.

To the minister: Does he realize that if they keep neglecting some of the busiest transit lines in the province, this government’s legacy will be a complete loss of faith in Ontarians’ public transit because we have a broken TTC?

The Speaker (Hon. Ted Arnott): To reply, the Premier.

Hon. Doug Ford: You know something, I don’t even know how to respond here, but I’m going to give it a shot.

Fifteen years—nothing was done in Scarborough. They had every single seat in Scarborough, and Triple M sitting beside you—actually, part of the deal with the federal government to build the Scarborough line back in 2010, 2011. We had a historic deal. Guess who shut it down? It was the Liberal provincial government—your government—that shut it down.

We’re actually doubling the size of the subway system. This is the largest subway expansion in North America: $28 billion. As the Liberals ignored the over 630,000 people of Scarborough—just keep in mind again: They had every single riding. Thank God they don’t have any of the ridings.

We’re going to continue fighting for the people of Scarborough because under the Liberal government, they were totally ignored. They aren’t being ignored anymore. We love the people of Scarborough. And by the way: We’re going to get your seat next election.