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“We’ll be practical about this,” said Mr. Hudak. “I’ll get the advice through Metrolinx, through my transportation minister. Whatever dollars are in the pool, in the existing pool, I’ll maximize those that go underground… Every dollar I practically can, I’ll put underground, I’ll put into subways.”

I think it’s going to be a real challenge to build subways under the existing envelope

The visit was scheduled before Mr. McGuinty’s announcement on Monday, which stunned the Liberal caucus and put pressure on his minority government.

Mr. Hudak said, if elected, the Conservatives would also seize control of transit in the GTA by uploading the TTC’s subway and LRT network and linking it to GO Transit for a “seamless” system that is run by Metrolinx, the regional agency, which would also be in charge of regional highways.

Councillor Denzil Minnan-Wong, a fiscal conservative, welcomed the PC party’s interest in getting the province more involved in the day-to-day operations of transit, saying it could save the city a massive amount of money. But he raised concerns about the proposed funding scheme for tunnelling underground.

“I think it’s going to be a real challenge to build subways under the existing envelope,” said Mr. Minnan-Wong, adding that “if the LRTs are already being built, it doesn’t make practical sense if they’re already there to rip them up.”

Councillor Karen Stintz, chair of the Toronto Transit Commission, said vehicles for all four light rail lines have already been ordered. But the master agreement between Metrolinx and the City of Toronto regarding the four LRT lines has not yet been signed. And ultimately, the province can do what it wants with its money, Ms. Stintz acknowledged.

“As far as I’m concerned those deals have been done, those lines have been confirmed, that is the expressed will of city council, and we need to build transit in the city. We can’t spend more time debating the decisions that have been made.”

National Post

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