TORONTO – Steven Del Duca, Leader of the Ontario Liberal Party, issued the following statement:
“One year ago, Doug Ford turned his back on the people of Hamilton and their transit dreams. It was one of many cuts Doug Ford made to public services when he first took office, and now, as the next election gets closer, he’s flip flopping to offer them a scaled back version.
With his eyes on the 2022 election, Doug Ford is cynically holding the Hamilton LRT hostage with a $1.5 billion ransom, which he hopes to collect from the Federal Government. Federal contributions are welcomed, but let’s be clear – the project had already been approved with provincial funding before he pulled the rug out from under Hamilton’s feet.
The LRT is a transformative transit project for Hamilton that was approved and fully funded by the Government of Ontario. Hamiltonians deserve to have the LRT they were promised built, but Doug Ford is giving them the runaround.
Ontario Liberals would invest the funds needed to build Hamilton’s LRT project in its entirety, not the shorter line Doug Ford is replacing it with. The people of Hamilton deserve an LRT from McMaster to Eastgate Square, and Doug Ford is shortchanging them.
Doug Ford likes to say there is only one taxpayer. It’s time for him to show he actually believes it.”
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