The Ontario government has done an “encouraging” job with its $1.2 billion investment in infrastructure, but opposition leader John Tory thinks there is still an infrastructure deficit that must be addressed.
Road Building
TORONTO
The Ontario government has done an “encouraging” job with its $1.2 billion investment in infrastructure, but opposition leader John Tory thinks there is still an infrastructure deficit that must be addressed.
“When all is said and done, we need a real plan with real targets to put a proper transportation structure in place in the province,” Tory told members of the Ontario Road Builders Association (ORBA) during a breakfast speech on Wednesday.
The infrastructure deficit has led to gridlock in the GTA, which has a “compounding” affect on commerce, family, the welfare of communities and the environment.
Tory proclaimed gridlock as the “number one issue” resulting from the infrastructure deficit.
The current government is too busy with the process as opposed to getting the results, criticized Tory, as he pointed out highway construction examples that have not been completed.
“In some cases, people didn’t even care about the processes used to get their results in business,” Tory added.
“Governments are obsessive and fiddle endlessly with process and that’s a part of the problem.”
"You fool yourself as well as the public"
John Tory
Ontario Conservative Leader
The danger with concentrating on the processes of infrastructure is that it creates the “illusion of actual people doing work,” said Tory.
“You fool yourself as well as the public.”
However, Tory is encouraged by the increased investment made by the government to highway construction.
Some initial steps have been taken, especially in the GTA, where $838 million was invested into the expansion and modernization of the public transit system.
New projects in Ontario have also added to the war on gridlock within the GTA, including highways 410, 407, 401 and 404.
The five-year ReNew Ontario plan has contributed $3.4 billion dollars to southern Ontario highways, while an additional $1.8 billion has been invested in northern highways.
“I can assure you that putting money into highways will be welcomed and continued, but one thing I can tell you that it can be significantly increased as well,” said Tory.
While there are encouraging signs in investment, Tory says the province has fallen “way short” in not taking the time or effort to create an integrated transportation plan.
No construction work is visible on all the 400 series highways mentioned in the ReNew Ontario plan, adds Tory.
Ontario needs a growth plan with the private sector, including Canadian pension plans that are invested in infrastructure construction in Europe.
Pension plan investments should be brought back home and invested in projects such as the 250 bridges in Renfrew County that require immediate assistance, he said.
Recent Comments
comments for this post are closed