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GO Transit to city hot topic during Niagara Days
Posted By RAY SPITERI
Mayor Ted Salci took several issues of importance from his office at city hall to Queen’s Park this week, but it was the push for getting GO Transit service to Niagara that garnered a lot of his attention Monday.
Salci said he had a “very interesting and informative” meeting Monday with Rob MacIsaac, chairman of the Greater Toronto Transportation Authority.
“I’d love to see GO extended to Niagara and we, as politicians in Niagara, made it quite clear that transportation is a hot topic right now,” Salci said from his cellphone in Toronto.
Salci is among several local politicians and business leaders in Queen’s Park this week, as most Niagara mayors and regional councillors are attending Niagara Days – three days of lobbying, meeting and informing provincial cabinet ministers and opposition MPPs about the peninsula’s needs and desires.
The annual event concludes Wednesday.
The Greater Toronto Transportation Authority is a public authority that manages transportation planning, including public transport within the Greater Toronto Area and Hamilton.
The organization was created by the provincial government in 2006, and adopted the Metrolinx name late last year. One of Metrolinx’ intentions is to eventually take over responsibility for the GO Transit railway and coach network from the present Greater Toronto Transit Authority.
Salci said he and his political counterparts, led by Regional Chairman Peter Partington (who was unavailable for comment Monday), have gone to Queen’s Park with “one-voice” and will collectively discuss several issues of importance in the region with provincial officials, such as extending Highway 406 south to Port Colborne, and addressing the issue of poverty in Niagara.
But it was the meeting with MacIsaac, a former mayor of Burlington, which left the Niagara Falls mayor more optimistic the dream of eventually bringing GO Transit to the region could become a reality. “I really enjoyed that meeting,” said Salci. “I learned a lot about transportation in the GTA and how it could have an effect on us in the future, and how we could fit into this. I think about the possibility of the provincial government contracting with our local carriers to make them part of the GO system.”
Fort Erie Mayor Doug Martin said he enjoyed his trip to Toronto Monday before rushing back into town for a council meeting. He had a particular interest in one specific afternoon get together with Donna Cansfield, minister of natural resources.
“We were identified in the (provincial government’s) Places to Grow as an economic gateway – (Public Infrastructure Renewal) Minister (David) Caplan … targeted us for economic development through industrial growth in Fort Erie. But on the other hand, the Ministry of Natural Resources has basically sterilized the entire area with the wetland designation and they have also sterilized the other half of the area with the greenbelt legislation,” Martin told The Review after Monday night’s council meeting.
“One provincial ministry says you are the place we want to grow and then another ministry jumps in and says there is essentially no land available because we’ve basically sterilized the entire peninsula. Well, something has to give.”
Martin said he brought his concerns right to Cansfield and was “received tremendously.”
“She understands our concern – she knows where we are coming from. She gets the importance of working with the other ministries … to ensure they’re not dealing in silos. She plans to set up meetings with the different agencies to get together within their own departments and get to the bottom of this.”
Martin also met with Harinder Takhar, minister of small business and entrepreneurship and along with Salci, caught up with Conservative Leader John Tory.
“Mr. Tory received us very well and professionally. We thanked him for his support of the convention centre and expressed the importance of the completion of the Highway 406 extension,” said Salci.
rspiteri@nfreview.com
Article ID# 995575
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Mayor Ted is a very charm old man. I like him very much and impress me when I visited Niagara this summer with my little girl. He greeted the GO train arrivals on Saturday with warm genuine hand shake, along with his wife. I’ve been travel quite a lot, almost non of the mayor doing that.
Way to go, Mayor Ted.
Comment by jean — September 4, 2009 @ 9:30 pm