Hamilton

Tuesday January 7, 2020

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Tuesday January 7, 2020

Maybe Sewergate is a turning point for Cootes Paradise

December 7, 2019

On Nov. 21, Royal Botanical Gardens hosted our second open house to inform the public of progress made in our 25-year master plan and to obtain valuable feedback from the community that will help RBG develop a bold new direction through 2045 and beyond.

Our plan aims to address environmental pressures while transforming the Gardens into a world-class tourist destination and leader in conservation and environmental education. The scope of this project will effectpositive societal change for future generations and have significant economic and environmental impacts within southern Ontario and beyond. Naturally, we were very excited to spread the news of our plans at the open house.

September 8, 2018

With coffee in hand, I started that morning with great anticipation, but as I opened The Hamilton Spectator, I was dismayed to read (a now infamous story) that 24 billion litres of sewage and stormwater run-off had leaked into Chedoke Creek.

The focus in the news was on Chedoke Creek. Many people do not realize that Chedoke Creek discharges directly into the eastern corner of Cootes Paradise on its way out to Hamilton Harbour. Many people also do not realize that Cootes Paradise is part of Royal Botanical Gardens lands and that we are the stewards of this incredible area that is part of the Great Lakes System of North America.

January 8, 2008

I was both upset and optimistic with this news, as was Drew Wensley, CEO of MT Planners Ltd. I was upset that the positive news of our master plan would be overshadowed by the news of the spill, yet both of us were optimistic that perhaps now, RBG and Cootes Paradise would finally get the attention they need and, more importantly, deserve.

For almost eight decades, we have been working on improving the water quality of Cootes Paradise to enable the aquatic plants to return, creating a better ecosystem where flora and fauna will thrive. For 25 years, we have been involved in one of the largest fresh-water marsh restoration projects in North America — “Project Paradise” — and as of 2015, we had restored about 50 per cent of the marsh’s vegetation. (Continued: Hamilton Spectator) 

 

Saturday December 21, 2019

December 21, 2019

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Saturday December 21, 2019

Auditor general is looking into cost estimates for Hamilton LRT

Ontario’s auditor general says she’ll look at how reasonable the province’s cost estimates were for Hamilton light-rail transit (LRT) as part of an upcoming audit of Metrolinx.

December 17, 2019

A key construction union is also investigating the government’s numbers, and says its preliminary investigation shows the province has been misled.

Auditor General Bonnie Lysyk said in a letter to Ontario NDP leader Andrea Horwath Thursday that she already started a value-for-money audit of Metrolinx governance and operations earlier this month.

“As part of this audit, we will be looking at the reasonableness of the cost estimates for rapid transit projects, including the Hamilton LRT,” she said.

Lysyk was responding to a request from Horwath, who represents Hamilton Centre. The province cancelled an LRT project earlier this week that runs 14 kilometres through three NDP ridings, including Horwath’s. The province will still invest $1 billion in Hamilton, Transportation Minister Caroline Mulroney said, but a task force will decide how it’s spent.

Horwath wrote Lysyk on Wednesday asking her to look into the Ministry of Transportation estimate that Hamilton LRT would cost $5.5 billion in capital, operating and maintenance over 30 years.

December 18, 2019

Mulroney said the estimate was the reason her government cancelled LRT. The ministry hired a third-party consultant, she said, after “proponents in the market” alerted her that the Hamilton project was over budget.

Horwath wants Lysyk to investigate why the cost-per-kilometre is higher for Hamilton’s LRT than the Hurontario and Finch West lines.

“The minister is refusing to disclose the third-party consultant’s report that the premier cites as validation for his figures,” Horwath told Lysyk, “so the public has no way of independently assessing them.”

The Laborers’ International Union of North America (LiUNA) announced earlier this week its investment arm would do its own review of the numbers. The union said in a statement Friday that preliminary figures show the province’s numbers were inflated. (CBC)



 

Wednesday December 18, 2019

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Wednesday December 18, 2019

Tory ‘optimistic’ about Ford government transit funding despite Hamilton LRT cancellation

October 20, 2018

Mayor John Tory says he’s “optimistic” Toronto’s transit expansion projects will move forward with support from the province despite the Doug Ford government’s abrupt move to cancel funding for an LRT line in downtown Hamilton.

Tory said Tuesday morning that he spoke with the premier about the suite of new transit projects planned for Toronto as recently as this weekend.

“I can, for the moment … say that the premier is as committed as I am to move forward, to get that transit built,” Tory told reporters, calling Ford’s dedication to the projects “absolute.”

In October, the city and the province agreed on a plan that would see Queen’s Park handle the capital costs of building four major transit initiatives, including the nearly 15-km Ontario Line; a three-stop Scarborough subway extension; an expansion of Line 1 north to Richmond Hill and a westward extension of the Eglinton Crosstown.

April 7, 2018

The projects are currently estimated to cost about $28.5 billion, with funding from all three levels government — though Toronto’s City Manager Chris Murray recently warned those costs could easily balloon as details are nailed down.

There are also ongoing projects not included in the newest expansion that require buy-in from the province, such as the Finch West LRT, which is in the early stages of construction.

Caroline Mulroney, Ontario’s transportation minister, blamed the previous Liberal government for the decision to stop the project. She told CBC Toronto on Monday that a third-party analysis found the project would cost several times more than the $1 billion the Liberals had estimated.

She later admitted, under questioning from reporters, that the current government had included 30 years worth of operating and maintenance expenses in its re-assessment of the project’s cost.

In an email to CBC Toronto on Tuesday, Callum Elder, spokesperson for Ontario’s transportation ministry, said Toronto residents should have confidence that the province will uphold its funding commitments for transit projects in the Greater Toronto and Hamilton Area. (CBC)

Ontario, Hamilton, LRT, transit, Christmas, stocking, fireplace, Doug Ford, Santa Claus

Tuesday December 17, 2019

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Tuesday December 17, 2019

A ‘betrayal’ of the City of Hamilton — Ontario pulls out of LRT

Doug Ford’s Tory government abruptly cancelled Hamilton’s LRT project Monday blaming billions of dollars in budget overruns — then teased $1 billion in transportation makeup cash, instead.

Hamilton LRT Gallery

Transportation Minister Caroline Mulroney gave up on a public announcement of the bombshell news after a crowd of residents and council members — including Mayor Fred Eisenberger — crashed a downtown Hamilton press briefing.

A visibly upset Eisenberger then took over proceedings and told the crowd the Tory government had killed the long-planned project in a “betrayal of the City of Hamilton.”

The mayor pointed out Premier Doug Ford publicly committed to the project — with the memorable quote “he wants an LRT, he’s going to get an LRT” — just weeks after the pro-light rail mayor won a convincing municipal election victory in late 2018.

“That was a lie and they’ve been angling to cut this project ever since,” Eisenberger said.

In a phone call Monday, Mulroney said she understood she was delivering “difficult news,” but emphasized the province cannot forge ahead with a project it now believes will cost $5.5 billion over 30 years.

The minister also reiterated the province’s $1-billion commitment to transportation in the city remains — but details are so far scarce on what the money could be spent on and who makes the decision.

December 7, 2019

Mulroney acknowledged the “anger and frustration” of residents who only nine months ago heard former Tory transportation minister Jeff Yurek announce the $1-billion LRT was “good to go forward” after a funding freeze described as a delay to study project viability.

Hamilton Chamber of Commerce head Keanin Loomis said he gave the Tory government “so much credit” for publicly sticking with the Liberal-approved project back in March. “I don’t know now if they knew at that point that they were going to do a bait-and-switch, but regardless, it is devastating for the economy in Hamilton,” he said.

Developer and union vice-president Joe Mancinelli said the project meant “thousands of jobs” to local construction workers and spurred LIUNA to start building two different towers along the route. “These are decisions that were (based) on a commitment that was made by the provincial government,” he said.

Mulroney said the incoming PC government was indeed concerned about the LRT budget from the get-go in 2018, but opted to get an independent cost estimate “to see if we could (still) deliver the project.”

Provincial officials forwarded to journalists a summarized page of “expert third-party” cost estimates that suggest the “total costs of the LRT” — including construction, financing and 30 years of operations and maintenance — had ballooned to $5.5 billion. (Hamilton Spectator) 

 

Hamilton LRT cartoon Gallery

…It has been a loooong conversation on making LRT a billion dollar reality in Hamilton.  Here’s a gallery of transit cartoons from the past 12 years or so. 

March 30, 2019
October 23, 2018
October 13, 2018
October 4, 2018
August 14, 2018
April 7, 2018
November 4, 2017
November 29, 2017
April 19, 2017
January 14, 2017
December 6, 2016
October 1, 2016
October 27, 2016
July 27, 2016
May 27, 2016
May 17, 2016
August 7, 2015
May 27, 2015
May 15, 2015
January 27, 2015
April 24 2015
March 7, 2015
February 7, 2015
February 3, 2015
January 23, 2015
December 13, 2014
October 25, 2014
October 28, 2014
June 10, 2014
April 21, 2014
March 10, 2014
February 28, 2014
November 5, 2013
October 25, 2013
May 29, 2013
April 28 2013
April 20, 2013
October 24, 2012
September 27, 2011
July 22, 2011
July 20, 2011
September 25, 2008

Not to mention these from 2010 and before:

              

 

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