Budget plan could ease GTA gridlock
$53M proposal would boost economic growth and jobs, Tory MP says
The Building Canada Plan will help the Greater Toronto Area address the persistent gridlock problem, the Tory MP for Eglinton-Lawrence said Friday.
The $53-billion plan, announced in the latest federal budget, will include $4 billion that would support infrastructure projects such as public transit and highways that boost economic growth and create jobs.
“I can’t get involved in the allocation of those billions of dollars but rest assured that Toronto, the largest city in Canada, will get its fair share,” Joe Oliver, minister of natural resources, said in a speech to the Toronto Region Board of Trade.
Toronto-region commuters suffer through some of the longest commutes in North America, studies show. By some estimates, gridlock costs the region an estimated $3 billion per year in lost productivity and added costs. That’s a drag on the economy, Oliver noted. “We need to get on the move if we want our economy to succeed.” Oliver also said that he remains “cautiously optimistic” on the Keystone XL pipeline project. The project, worth about $5.3 bil- lion (U.S.), would transport an estimated 830,000 barrels a day of oilsands crude to the Gulf Coast where it could be sold and shipped to customers abroad, fetching a higher price on international markets.
Environmentalists are opposed to the pipeline, which they say will accelerate global warning. They also argue that a spill or rupture would be disastrous for the environment.
Oliver reiterated on Friday that the massive project is “an enormous opportunity” that would create jobs and bring in tax revenues that can be used for health care and infrastructure. “The positives are really very strong,” Oliver said, adding that the possible negatives have been closely examined in a 2,000 page report issued by the U.S. State Department.
The report, issued in early March, concluded that there is no environmental reason to prevent the controversial project.
The decision is now up to U.S. President Barack Obama.