Waterloo Regional Council awards LRT contract

Waterloo regional council voted in favour Wednesday to award a $532.1 million dollar contract to Grandlinq to build stage 1 of the region's light rail transit project..

The vote passed with Waterloo mayor Brenda Halloran, Cambridge mayor Doug Craig and councillors Jean Haalboom and Claudette Millar opposed. 

Stage 1 of the ION LRT includes 19 kilometres of light rail connecting Conestoga Mall in Waterloo to Fairview Park Mall in Kitchener, to the Grandlinq consortium.

Area-rating motion causes conflict

Council also voted on a motion from Doug Craig to exempt Cambridge from paying its portion of the LRT bill, but his motion was criticized by other councillors. 

"That's the only way a region works is that you don't always get equally what you pay," said Councillor Jim Wideman. 

For his part, Craig said he felt attacked by other councillors.

"It was unfair, it was nasty. When Cambridge comes up with a legitimate motion in terms of area-rating you have this kind of mentality on the regional council that just got so upset that we should even talk about these things," said Craig.

Craig's motion had only one other supporter, former Cambridge mayor Claudette Millar.

Before the vote was called, regional chair Ken Seiling read a statement refuting what he sees as a misconception that Cambridge gets short-changed as part of the Region. Seiling said the city actually pays less than it's share when it comes to housing, Ontario Works, policing and EMS.