Mississauga Mayor Hazel McCallion says the only thing that can stop a proposed $1.5 billion LRT through her city is politics. City councillors, meanwhile, are already counting on Kathleen Wynne’s support to fund the plan.

“That’s the only thing that could change our project being a priority —politics. And I can’t control that,” McCallion told councillors at Wednesday’s meeting, where staff presented an update on the implications of Metrolinx’s Big Move plan for Mississauga.

McCallion, one of the most prominent (and influential) political figures in Canada, threw her support behind Wynne at this week’s Liberal leadership convention. It appears that, like her predecessor Dalton McGuinty, Wynne listens intently when McCallion speaks. The premier designate has stated that McCallion’s repeated emphasis on relieving gridlock throughout the GTA has hit home.

Now, Mississauga wants to make sure it gets its fair share of traffic relief.

McCallion, who used to help McGuinty secure Liberal seats in the regions outside Toronto, repeated a recent theme of hers Wednesday: That Toronto better not get in the way of her city’s proposed LRT.

“Metrolinx was held up for two years because Toronto wanted the majority vote — two years. Now, the projects that will move are a priority, not political.”

She warned of politics getting in the way of what’s really needed. “The Ministry of Transportation and the Mayor of Toronto (Mel Lastman) decided they could build a subway that went nowhere,” she said of Toronto’s $900 million Sheppard line, which has been widely maligned for its low ridership.

McCallion and councillors focused on the Hurontario LRT, which would run up the city’s spine. It’s one of the major projects planned for the second wave of Metrolinx’s plan, but has yet to receive any allocated funds.

Where the $1.5 billion will come from is a mystery that has some councillors feeling anxious.

Reading from a list of funding options in a Metrolinx package just received by council members, Bonnie Crombie said she’s glad the province is looking at alternatives: “Congestion charge, land transfer tax, tolls — the new premier designate has tipped her hat that she’s interested in these new revenue tools.”

But Metrolinx has not determined which of those tools and other potential revenue sources will help unfunded projects such as Mississauga’s LRT, which McCallion said last week has to be funded 100 per cent by the province.

Even city manager Janice Baker expressed her concerns, given the province’s well-known financial challenges. “The issue now is, can we get the money?”

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