Ontario Premier Doug Ford is asking Prime Minister Mark Carney for support on multiple projects for the province, including his plan to construct a tunnel under Highway 401.
Ford wrote to Carney on May 5, presenting a list of Ontario’s priorities that he wants the federal government to prioritize. The letter comes in response to a request made by Carney during a March meeting with the premiers in which he urged them to identify “nation-building projects.”
Ford said securing access to vital minerals by developing Ontario’s Ring of Fire region, investing in an electric vehicle supply chain, establishing a new James Bay deep-sea port, and supporting nuclear energy generation to build small modular reactors were top priorities for Ontario that would also “be transformational for Canada’s economy.”
“Your government has our full support to urgently invest in and get shovels in the ground on new nation-building infrastructure, including pipelines, highways, railways, seaports and airports that will help Canadian goods reach new customers in new markets,” Ford wrote.
“For our part, Ontario is ready to work with federal, provincial and municipal partners to establish new energy corridors for pipelines, rail lines, transmission lines and other critical infrastructure.”
Ford said it is vital that Carney honour his commitment to eliminate all federal internal trade barriers by Canada Day.
401 Tunnel
Transportation was high on Ford’s wish list as well. He asked Carney to support his “GO 2.0” proposal to improve train services in the Greater Golden Horseshoe with the introduction of new lines and all-day service for Milton and Kitchener and to help create a driver and transit tunnel expressway under Highway 401.
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The tunnel would “significantly ease congestion on the busiest highway in North America, helping to improve our economic competitiveness by getting goods and services to market sooner,” Ford wrote.
The prime minister’s office did not immediately respond to requests for comment on Ford’s letter.
Provincial opposition party leaders have been critical of Ford’s tunnel proposal.
“At this time when workers in Windsor, in Oshawa, across this province, their jobs are being cut, they are losing their jobs right now, Doug Ford is prioritizing his fantasy tunnel,” NDP Leader Marit Stiles told reporters at Queen’s Park May 5.
Liberal Leader Bonnie Crombie was also critical of the proposal, telling reporters the project could “bankrupt” Ontario.
“It’s a 40-year project, frankly, that will not address traffic gridlock or congestion today,” she said. “And quite frankly, when you think about it, by the time that tunnel is complete, who knows if we’re even driving vehicles or there will be alternative methods.”
Although the province is seeking proposals for a tunnel feasibility study, the premier has pledged on several occasions to build the tunnel “no matter what.”
“This is something we’re going to get done. We have the skill set. We have the skilled trades right here ready to go,” Ford said during a press conference last fall. “We’re tunnelling experts. We’ve tunnelled kilometres and kilometres of subway, and this is not going to be any different. It will be one of the world’s longest tunnels.”
The request for proposals is intended to evaluate the feasibility of constructing a tunnel or other alternatives, which include an elevated highway, expanding the number of lanes, and establishing lanes exclusively for trucks.
The request says the study should assess the tunnel on a long-term horizon, specifying the year 2051.
In conjunction with the feasibility study, the province is requesting an evaluation of best practices from comparable projects, including a proposed four-lane traffic tunnel in downtown Ottawa that was never built. That feasibility study cost $750,000 and determined that constructing a 3.4-kilometre tunnel through downtown Ottawa would cost upwards of $2 billion. The tunnel has yet to be constructed.
Bail Reform
Although not a “nation building” initiative, Ford also urged Carney in his letter to enact bail reforms to keep repeat offenders off the streets.
The province recently introduced legislation aimed at strengthening Ontario’s bail system.
The proposed legislation would make it easier to obtain restraining orders against individuals who commit domestic violence. It would also support a thorough review of the bail system, make it easier for law enforcement to confiscate electronic devices used to commit auto theft, and would put in place teams of prosecutors that collaborate with law enforcement to present the most compelling case at bail hearings for serious and violent offences.
“There remain too many cases where communities are afflicted by the scourge of violence perpetrated by someone who is out on bail,” Ford said in his letter to Carney. “The federal government needs to put in place mandatory minimum sentences for serious crimes, a mandatory three strike rule requiring pretrial detention for repeat offenders and stricter bail and sentencing laws to better respond to the severity of a range of violent offences.”
Ford also asked the prime minister to speed up approvals for “life-saving medications” to aid Canada in becoming “a more competitive destination for global pharmaceutical and life science investments.”
The Canadian Press contributed to this report.
