Peter Bethlenfalvy just became the newest Finance Minister of Ontario. Given his comments on the fiscal profligacy of the previous Liberal government and his hawkishness on spending, I fear we’re in for incredibly bad news on the TTC operational support front, and on the future of Toronto’s transit priority projects (the Ontario Line, the Scarborough Subway Extension, the Eglinton West Extension and the Yonge North Extension).
I truly hope I’m wrong. Truly. Otherwise we’re staring into another TTC death spiral.
Update on 01 Jan 2021
I sense an undercurrent of concern from Mayor John Tory :/
Update on 01 Mar 2021
I’m really happy to report that as of the 2021 Ontario budget, transit funding for both GO RER and the TTC’s priority projects seems to have survived (page 20).
Unfortunately we still don’t have any specifics from IO about when the RFP winner will be selected and when financial close will occur for GO electrification. It’s only at that time that we can be sure that GO RER will go ahead. On the OL side, timings have unfortunately been pushed out, and it’s likely that we’ll only see signing (if at all!) come after the next provincial election. And of course, there’s the elephant in the room, in that the federal government hasn’t put any money towards these projects.