Governments of Canada, Ontario and Toronto reaffirm commitment to planning the Toronto Relief Line

TORONTO, June 2, 2017 /CNW/ - The governments of Canada, Ontario and Toronto are making investments to create jobs and grow the middle class, while building a foundation for a strong, sustainable economic future. Investing in public infrastructure supports efficient and affordable transit services that help Canadians get to and from work, school and other activities safely and on time.

The Honourable Ahmed Hussen, Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship and Member of Parliament for York South—Weston, on behalf of the Honourable Amarjeet Sohi, Minister of Infrastructure and Communities, the Honourable Steven Del Duca, Ontario Minister of Transportation, and his Worship John Tory, Mayor of the City of Toronto, today reaffirmed their commitment to address overcrowding and congestion on Toronto's public transit system. Through the Public Transit Infrastructure Fund, the Government of Canada will be providing more than $27 million to support the planning and preliminary design of a relief line, a future rapid transit line that would relieve overcrowding on the Yonge Subway Line, and provide riders with more travel options. Ontario is providing over $150 million to advance planning and design work for the relief line as part of the Moving Ontario Forward plan. The City of Toronto will also be contributing more than $27 million to the next phase of planning and design work for this important project, which is in addition to $4 million already spent on the relief line planning work.

This project will advance the planning and design of the Toronto City Council approved alignment for the relief line from Pape Avenue and Danforth Avenue to downtown via Queen Street East. This line will improve travel through Toronto, getting people where they need to go quickly and on time.

This investment is part of an agreement between Canada and Ontario for the Public Transit Infrastructure Fund.

Quotes

"The Government of Canada is committed to investing in public transit infrastructure that gets people where they need to go safely and efficiently, while contributing to economic prosperity and the growth of the middle class. Modern public transit helps make municipalities across Ontario stronger, more inclusive and sustainable. I'm pleased to support this very important first stage of the Toronto relief line project."

The Honourable Ahmed Hussen, Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship and Member of Parliament for York South—Weston, on behalf of the Honourable Amarjeet Sohi, Minister of Infrastructure and Communities

"I am pleased to have partners at all levels of government who share our vision for a well-designed transit system that connects people to school, families and jobs. The relief line will make commuting more convenient for people in their everyday lives and today's announcement signifies our ongoing commitment to achieve that goal. This is just one part of our promise to build Ontario up with the largest infrastructure investment in our province's history."

The Honourable Steven Del Duca, Ontario Minister of Transportation

"I'm glad to see the federal government coming to the table with much-needed transit funding. This planning funding - coupled with the City's investment - helps us get to work on planning the relief line. The City of Toronto is ready to keep building transit for the future and looks forward to working with our federal and provincial partners to make that construction a reality for our residents."

His Worship John Tory, Mayor of the City of Toronto

Quick Facts

• The Government of Canada will provide more than $180 billion in infrastructure funding over 12 years for public transit, green infrastructure, social infrastructure, transportation that supports trade, and Canada's rural and northern communities.
• To support public transit, Budget 2017 proposes $25.3 billion. This amount includes $5 billion that will be available for investment through the Canada Infrastructure Bank.
• The Government of Ontario is making the largest infrastructure investment in hospitals, schools, public transit, roads and bridges, and water and wastewater infrastructure in the province's history – more than $190 billion in public infrastructure over 13 years, starting in 2014–15. To learn more about what's happening in your community, go to Ontario.ca/BuildON.
• Ontario has committed more than $10 billion for rapid transit projects in Toronto that have recently been completed, are under construction or will soon be underway.
• The City of Toronto is investing up to $856 million for transit projects across Toronto through the Public Transit Infrastructure Fund.
• The relief line will relieve crowding on Line 1 Yonge-University, at Bloor-Yonge Station, and on the surface transit routes coming in and out of downtown.
• Planning for the Relief Line South is a City/TTC priority transit expansion project. Current demand forecasts indicate that the Relief Line South is required by 2031.

Associated links

Government of Canada's $180-billion+ infrastructure plan in Budget 2017:
http://www.budget.gc.ca/2017/docs/plan/chap-02-en.html#Toc477707375

Federal infrastructure investments in Ontario: http://www.infrastructure.gc.ca/map-carte/on-eng.html  

The Public Transit Infrastructure Fund: http://www.infrastructure.gc.ca/plan/ptif-fitc-eng.php

Build ON 2017 Infrastructure Update: https://www.ontario.ca/page/buildon-2017-infrastructure-update

Twitter: @INFC_eng
Web: Infrastructure Canada

SOURCE Infrastructure Canada

For further information: Brook Simpson, Press Secretary, Office of the Minister of Infrastructure and Communities, 613-219-0149, brook.simpson@canada.ca; Celso Pereira, Minister's Office, Ontario Ministry of Transportation, 647-201-9348, Celso.Pereira2@ontario.ca; Keerthana Kamalavasan, Senior Advisor, Communications, Office of the Mayor of Toronto, 647-998-2615, keerthana.kamalavasan@toronto.ca; Deborah Blackstone, Strategic Communications, City of Toronto, 416-392-7377, deborah.blackstone@toronto.ca; Infrastructure Canada, 613-960-9251, Toll free: 1-877-250-7154, infc.media.infc@canada.ca