Ford says PCs would fund all-day 2-way GO but Liberals question how
'How can he move forward with less revenue in the province?': Transportation Minister Kathryn McGarry
Ontario Progressive Conservative Leader Doug Ford said his government will fund all-day, two-way GO trains and continue with the environmental assessment for high speed rail if elected in June.
Ford made the comments in Kitchener Friday while also announcing plans to cut hydro bills by 12 per cent.
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"We're going to fund that," he said on all-day two-way GO trains between Kitchener and Toronto. "We're going to do it as quickly as possible."
The Liberals have previously pledged that the region will have all-day two-way GO by 2024.
Ford wouldn't provide a timeline for when the PCs would be able to reach that goal if elected, but said they will "cut all the red tape" and get it done as quickly as possible.
"We're going to have the pedal to the metal, and we're going to move forward, we're going to cut all the red tape and bureaucracy that gets in the way of these projects," he said.
Track ownership an issue
Ontario Transportation Minister Kathryn McGarry said that projects like all-day, two-way GO trains are complex, and track ownership for the last 30 kilometres is still an issue.
The Liberal MPP for Cambridge said CN still owns that land, but an agreement is in place to move ahead with the project.
McGarry also questioned how Ford plans to fund all-day, two-way GO and other transit projects like high-speed rail.
"Ford has promised billions of dollars in cuts, and he hasn't told us where those cuts are coming from," she told CBC News.
"How can he move forward with less revenue in the province and promise all these transit projects?"
In a release, the Liberals said Ford hasn't ruled out cancelling Niagara's GO expansion, Hamilton's LRT and other projects in the GTA.
"There are a lot of projects in Waterloo region that are at stake in this election," McGarry said, pointing specifically to the LRT in the region and Highway 7 construction.
Catherine Fife, NDP MPP for Kitchener Waterloo, said the community has "good reason to doubt" Fords comments to fund all day, two-way GO.
"I think if anyone really wants to see all day, two-way GO service finally come to Kitchener-Waterloo, they should keep Mr. Ford as far away from government as possible," Fife said.