Toronto councillors demanding answers from Metrolinx about Ontario Line transit project

Three Toronto city councillors are pushing for more insight and input into the massive Ontario Line project, slamming the provincial transit agency charged with building the multi-billion dollar subway line for being too secretive.

Ausma Malik, Chris Moise and Paula Fletcher received the backing of their colleagues on the Toronto and East York Community Council this week to create a sub-committee to dig into the project. The group will begin meeting next month and will receive formal updates from city staff and can hear deputations from community members. 

Malik, who represents Ward 10, Spadina-Fort York, said they decided to form the sub-committee because as planning for the Ontario Line has proceeded, communities and the politicians representing them have been consistently left out of the process.

"Metrolinx and the provincial government have fallen short in terms of their community engagement, in terms of their responsibility to ensure that they're listening to local stakeholders," she said.

The 15.6-kilometre Ontario Line was announced by Premier Doug Ford in 2019. The route is set to have 15 stations and run through the downtown core from Ontario Place in the west to the Ontario Science Centre in the east.

Its initial price was pegged at $10.9 billion. But in November, the province updated that estimate, revealing that because of supply chain issues and inflation the price tag has jumped to between $17 and $19 billion. Those figures don't include a number of costs, including the actual trains themselves or storage facilities for them.

Construction was first projected to wrap in 2027. Asked Friday when the line is expected to be completed, Metrolinx would not say.

Critics have questioned Metrolinx's plan and have accused the provincial agency of a lack of communication and poor consultation with communities that are affected. Metrolinx also landed in legal hot water when a number of groups challenged its plan to cut down trees on the historic grounds of Osgoode Hall to build a station on the line.

Moise, who represents Ward 13, Toronto Centre, said his constituents and those of the other two councillors are the most impacted by construction on the project. And while the committee cannot compel Metrolinx to take part in its work, good planning comes from rigorous community consultation, he said.

"We are in dire need of more transit," he said. "I'm very much in support of the Ontario Line. But we know that Metrolinx have not always been forthright and  forthcoming." 

Fletcher, who represents Ward 14, Toronto-Danforth, said Metrolinx has been communicating its plan "in chunks," which has impeded local councillors' ability to view the scope of the project. The committee will allow councillors to take a longer view of the work, she said.

"Right now, we're just seeing the trees … we really need to see the forest," she said. "And I think this will give a very clear overview of the entire area."

Coun. Josh Matlow, who represents Ward 12, Toronto-St. Paul's, said lessons from Metrolinx's delayed Eglinton Crosstown LRT must be applied to the Ontario Line and he supports forming the sub-committee.

"They're too secretive," he said of Metrolinx.