I’d like to welcome to the Legislature today representatives of the Ontario Public Transit Association. They’re here for their advocacy day. I don’t see them yet in the members’ gallery, but I want to welcome: Karen Cameron, president and CEO of OPTA; Rick Leary, CEO, and Kyla Marrin, manager of government relations and policy, of the Toronto Transit Commission; Carla Stout, general manager of the Niagara Transit Commission; Renée Amilcar, general manager of OC Transpo; and Kelly Paleczny, general manager of the London Transit Commission. Welcome to Queen’s Park.

I thank the member opposite for the question. Speaker, the delays that are plaguing the Eglinton Crosstown LRT are frustrating for everyone, for people living along the line and for businesses that are there. As the member opposite knows, we inherited this project from the previous Liberal government, which mismanaged the project from the start. Right now, Speaker, our focus is on making sure that the Eglinton Crosstown LRT is safely operational as soon as possible.

Let’s be clear, we are continuing to make progress on our priority projects for the GTA: the new Ontario Line and the three extensions. But to get those projects built in a different way, we passed the Building Transit Faster Act, an act that’s designed to address a lot of the issues that the member opposite is raising. Mr. Speaker, that member and the party opposite voted against the Building Transit Faster Act. They voted against getting shovels in the ground and getting transit built faster. I think the question that should be asked in this House is why they voted against such an important piece of legislation to get transit built faster.

Mr. Speaker, let’s be clear: We have been there for businesses along the Eglinton Crosstown LRT. We have provided supports for those businesses that have been impacted by construction. Metrolinx has been collaborating not only with the city of Toronto but also with local BIAs to establish a joint committee that’s responsible for determining where these funds should go.

Mr. Speaker, we know that this has been a difficult go for the people along the Eglinton Crosstown LRT. That’s why we’re so determined to do it differently.

Under the leadership of this Premier, we are delivering the largest transit expansion in Canadian history, all while investing in high-quality, high-paying, homegrown jobs. In the last three years alone, Mr. Speaker, our government has invested almost $500 million to support Thunder Bay workers at the Alstom plant. We currently have nine open contracts with Alstom for projects across the province. We’ve recently ordered 60 new streetcars and the refurbishment of 94 GO train coaches to maintain 300 good manufacturing jobs at the Alstom facility.

As part of our largest transit expansion plan in Canadian history, the city of Toronto has been provided with the opportunity to redirect more than $5 billion in its state-of-good-repair funding to the existing TTC network, which will then include the purchase of new streetcars and new subways. Mr. Speaker, this means real opportunity for the province of Ontario, and the member opposite’s party voted against that deal.

Part of the deal with the federal government and the city of Toronto and York region involve the redirecting of $5 billion of funding to the state of good repair. The NDP and the Liberals voted against that deal. That is the way we’re going to continue to send more orders to the Alstom plant in Thunder Bay to make sure that those high-quality, good-paying jobs are there for years and years to come. But, Mr. Speaker, we’re putting forward the plans and the members opposite keep voting against them.