In the latest development in a legal dispute that has cast doubt on the completion date of the province’s largest transit project, Metrolinx is going to court in an attempt to block a lawsuit from the consortium building the Eglinton Crosstown LRT.

Last month Crosslinx Transit Solutions, the consortium constructing the $5.3-billion light rail line, filed a notice of action against Metrolinx that claimed the transit agency had breached the project’s contract. The notice said Crosslinx intended to seek an unspecified amount for damages, as well as an extension to the September 2021 construction deadline for the LRT.

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On Wednesday, Metrolinx, the provincial transit agency, fired back with an application seeking a stay of the proceedings that Crosslinx launched.

In its 10-page filing to the Ontario Superior Court of Justice, the transit agency argues the “detailed dispute resolution procedure” spelled out in the Crosstown contract stipulates disagreements between the parties should be settled only after the project is complete.

Crosslinx is “contractually required, during the construction period, to attempt to recover schedule and mitigate any delay,” Metrolinx’s filing asserts.

It says the agency’s position is that the 2021 deadline can be met, and Metrolinx “requires and insists” that Crosslinx complete the LRT by that date.

The notice asks for a “declaration that no further steps may be taken in the action” Crosslinx launched unless the court grants permission, and for Metrolinx to be awarded legal costs.

Superior Court Justice Sean Dunphy set a hearing on Metrolinx’s notice for Sept. 11.

A spokesperson from Crosslinx, a consortium made up of construction giants Aecon, Dragados, EllisDon, and SNC-Lavalin, said Wednesday the group was “disappointed” Metrolinx had “taken this unnecessary pre-emptive step.”

“Crosslinx has worked in good faith over the last year to address delay and compensation issues with Metrolinx and Infrastructure Ontario, and we will continue to work with our partners to reach a resolution that delivers this essential transit project on time,” wrote Kristin Jenkins in an email.

“Crosslinx only initiated legal action after a settlement was not reached, leaving us with no choice but to seek redress through the courts.”

The notice of action Crosslinx filed in July alleged Metrolinx had failed to live up to its side of the contract, and that Crosslinx had incurred construction problems beyond its “reasonable control.”

In addition to Metrolinx, the notice named the Ontario Lands Corporation, more commonly known as Infrastructure Ontario, as a defendant. Infrastructure Ontario was also an applicant in the notice Metrolinx filed Wednesday.

Crosslinx’s notice didn’t include a detailed claim, but it alleged that work by utility companies had exceeded time frames guaranteed by Metrolinx and interfered with the construction process.

It also cited “issues regarding permits, licences and approvals” and “delays” and “disruptions” affecting the design approval process.

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On Wednesday Justice Dunphy extended the deadline for Crosslinx to file a detailed statement of claim to Sept. 12, pending the outcome of the hearing.

In an interview Metrolinx CEO Phil Verster insisted the relationship between his agency and Crosslinx has not fallen apart.

He said Metrolinx and Infrastructure Ontario have been working with the consortium since March when it first flagged it may not meet the construction deadline, and described the relationship as “very constructive, very collaborative.”

“I want to make this explicit, it’s not broken down. We continue to work very closely with them on finding a way forward,” Verster said, adding that Metrolinx’s focus is getting the LRT up and running on time, and the agency doesn’t want to be distracted by litigation during construction.

He acknowledged the project is behind schedule but argued there was still time to get it back on track.

“I am confident that (Crosslinx) and Metrolinx can collaborate and can get Eglinton LRT to be completed by 2021,” he said.

The procurement model the previous Ontario Liberal government used to award the Crosstown contract to Crosslinx in 2015 is called a public-private partnership, or P3, and was designed to shift the financial responsibility for cost overruns and delays to the private sector by locking in a cost and completion date, reducing the risk to the public purse.

Asked whether the legal dispute shows the P3 model hasn’t worked, Verster said disputes are inevitable with a project of the Crosstown’s size.

“No matter how clear contracts are, parties to the contract will still have claims,” he said.

When complete, the Crosstown will run for 19 kilometres across midtown, between Kennedy subway station and Mount Dennis.

It was previously supposed to be finished in 2020, but in 2015 that date was pushed back a year.

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