Dalton McGuinty says council is supreme; Tim Hudak says it should be ignored
Apparently, no amount of midnight subway riding will help Rob Ford convince Dalton McGuinty to contravene city council and build his beloved subways. After Ford’s transit plan was defeated in favour of light-rail transit and an above-grade Eglinton LRT at a special council meeting earlier this week, Ford declared the collective will of his colleagues “irrelevant” and suggested the province would agree with him. McGuinty quickly responded, countering that he actually doesn’t agree with him at all.
The Toronto Star has the story:
McGuinty openly contradicted the mayor’s assertion that he was “very confident” the province would push ahead with the subway plan despite the vote by Toronto council.
“I’ve also been very clear with the mayor from day one. At the time the memorandum of understanding (on Ford’s version of the transit plan) was entered into, there was a specific provision that he’s got to seek the support of the council,” McGuinty told reporters after a lunch speech in Ottawa.
“He reached out to me just last Friday. I confirmed once again that I needed the approval of the council. Should he receive that, great, we’re off to the races,” he said.
Despite McGuinty’s rejection, however, Ford is not alone. Tim Hudak weighed in shortly after Ford’s dismissal of council’s decision, dredging up that good ol’ “war on the car” chestnut (which, really, never seems to help anybody) and calling on McGuinty to follow Ford’s lead.
So with Toronto transit moving from the all-out political war phase to the much more practical shovels-in-the-ground phase, both Ford and Hudak appear eager to stick to ineffective talking points and unpopular ideas, all the while attempting to subvert civic democracy. Given Hudak’s implosion in the provincial election and Ford’s recent series of embarrassing political defeats, we have to wonder how they think that’s going to work out for them.
• Premier Dalton McGuinty says he is ‘obligated’ to consider council’s transit decision [Toronto Star]
• Hume: After transit vote, it’s Mayor Rob Ford who’s irrelevant [Toronto Star]
• McGuinty will respect council’s transit decision [Toronto Sun]
• Province to Ford: ‘Council rules supreme’ [Globe and Mail]
• Ontario to Ford: Council is supreme [Torontoist]
(Images: Dalton McGuinty, Jennifer K. Wareen; Tim Hudak, Ontario Chamber of Commerce)
 was entered into, there was a specific provision that he’s got to seek the support of the council,” McGuinty told reporters after a lunch speech in Ottawa.
“He reached out to me just last Friday. I confirmed once again that I needed the approval of the council. Should he receive that, great, we’re off to the races,” he said.
Despite McGuinty’s rejection, however, Ford is not alone. Tim Hudak weighed in shortly after Ford’s dismissal of council’s decision, dredging up that good ol’ “war on the car” chestnut (which, really, never seems to help anybody) and calling on McGuinty to follow Ford’s lead.
So with Toronto transit moving from the all-out political war phase to the much more practical shovels-in-the-ground phase, both Ford and Hudak appear eager to stick to ineffective talking points and unpopular ideas, all the while attempting to subvert civic democracy. Given Hudak’s implosion in the provincial election and Ford’s recent series of embarrassing political defeats, we have to wonder how they think that’s going to work out for them.
• Premier Dalton McGuinty says he is ‘obligated’ to consider council’s transit decision [Toronto Star]
• Hume: After transit vote, it’s Mayor Rob Ford who’s irrelevant [Toronto Star]
• McGuinty will respect council’s transit decision [Toronto Sun]
• Province to Ford: ‘Council rules supreme’ [Globe and Mail]
• Ontario to Ford: Council is supreme [Torontoist]
(Images: Dalton McGuinty, Jennifer K. Wareen; Tim Hudak, Ontario Chamber of Commerce)){kind=link}
allowing LRTs….is that like letting the terrorists win?
rob ford and tim who-dat expect the taxpayers of the entire province pick up the tab for his lardship’s dream of burying transit users underground where they cannot be seen or heard?
I wonder the kind folks of thunder bay will react when their taxes go up and then are told it was to pay for toronto’s subway…
maybe this is a ploy for the next provincial election for who-dat to say how dalton misspent their tax dollars….the gravy train at queen’s park has to end…..
Why didn’t Rob Ford ride the TTC on a regular basis, instead of on special occasions (like losing a vote at city council)?
W K Lis ———–> Ford never rode the TTC before cause he could not and still cannot fit in a seat or take up too much time at rush hour. Notice the time he road it ? After midnight when it was empty – just like his think and strategic mindset!! Hey Hey OH OH ROB FORD HAS GOT TO GO!!
Anyone who lives in Toronto would know the nightmare these surface based LRTs and Streetcars cause. They spent millions to “upgrade” the St.Clair street car line. And you could ask anyone from that are and they would tell you what type of nightmare it has been so far for them. First of all, all the businesses and the residents suffered during the construction phase that ran out of budget. And then now, you simply can not navigate those streets. I am a real estate investor, and I would not put a penny in any of these properties because they are not worth the risk.
And the vote in the city hall was orchestrated by groups behind Councillor Stintz, who stand to gain a lot from LRTs. The operation cost will be going up. That means more money to the union bosses. And more room for the current employees to move up to higher salaried jobs.
This was not done in regards to the commuters and what is best for the city. Majority of the city dwellers want to see the subways. They look at the LRTs as a waste of 8.4 billion dollars.
I travel all over the city and outskirts. And I personally know that it is a bad idea. 3,000 to 4,000 km a month on the road gives me a very good idea about what Ford is concerned about.
Hudak needs to get a better Dr. Feelgood brandishing the syringe- His Botox is badly done- if that forehead was anymore frozen he’s be able to show a movie on it. Look at the pic above- lots of wrinkle movement around the corner of the eyes but the forehead is channeling Nicole Kidman….
put down the needle and step away…
” I am a real estate investor, and I would not put a penny in any of these properties because they are not worth the risk.”
lol get a clue… stop reading the sun for your news, ST Clair street is booming right now, yes it was a pain to instal but that is what happens with huge investments, do u think digging a subway would not cause any disruptions???? Also the delays were not even the TTC fault
Exactly – do you think tunneling under eglinton would not cause a disruption? This conservative vs. liberal bullshit needs to stop. We do not need our politics to continue to mirror that of our US neighbours. What is the best for the city based on independent, non partisan studies. What everyone continually neglects to mention is that the city spent tens of millions of dollars over years of study and came up with a plan and the Ford brothers, in a manner of weeks decided they knew better…hmmmm. A guy who never used public transit is going to dismiss the work of experts in just weeks of taking office. Really ?!?! Well done Ms. Stntz. If she was running for mayor i would vote for her. Common sense is sorely lacking in politics !
the secret to having less gridlock is to have less cars….its that simple
streetcars add a little charm to the city that lacks charm
get rid of people doing u-turns and regulate left turns better and
I think its Mr Hudak that should be ignored. Didn’t his former PC government cancel the Eglinton West subway in 1995 without a vote?
Go visit a city with an aboveground schlubway and come back and post here you morons.