Article content

Toronto city council has approved a deal reached with the Doug Ford government for transit expansion, despite concerns over construction delays and future costs.

The agreement allows for the building of a new Ontario downtown relief line and the Scarborough subway expansion, while averting a provincial plan to take over existing TTC subways.

We apologize, but this video has failed to load.

tap here to see other videos from our team. Try refreshing your browser, or Toronto council greenlights subway expansion Back to video

Mayor John Tory said the agreement would allow the city to expand transit at the expense of other levels of government and redirect resources to address the TTC’s $24-billion repair and upgrade backlog.

The $30-billion transit plan put forward by the Ford government includes a commitment to seek financial contribution from communities outside Toronto that benefit from the expansion, he said.

The alternative to accepting the deal would have been a fight with the provincial government, he said.

“I’m for building, not for fighting,” Tory said.