City seeks 600 mil from Ottawa for infrastructure
List of potential projects given to media ahead of decision announcements
By Kris Scheuer
As a Toronto journalist, I have not posted any articles from other media on my site – until today.
Yesterday I read the article by Brodie Fenlon, a city hall reporter, in The Globe and Mail about more than 500 projects the city government is seeking stimulus funding from the feds.
A list of projects was circulated to all 44 councillors last week and someone gave a copy to The Globe.
This includes projects such as $1.68 mil to resurface the Gardiner Expressway, $9 mil to resurface Victoria Park Ave, $21.4 mil to modernize Pape and Dufferin subway stations and $1.1 mil for the North York Central Library.
To see the full 12-page list, click here.
An announcement is expected next week to see which projects the feds okay for Toronto.
I think it was right that someone “leaked” the list to the media and by extension to the public. This undoubtably puts pressure on the feds to hand over some cash to the city for infrastructure. It also allows the public to see the list and advocate on behalf of projects dear to their hearts.
What do you think? Should the list have been made public BEFORE any decisions are made on what to fund?
Let me know.
Kris Scheuer 