Doug Ford government sidesteps questions about Eglinton Crosstown LRT amid uncertain completion

Ontario’s transportation minister sidestepped questions about the Eglinton Crosstown LRT this week after the CEO of Metrolinx refused to indicate when the transit line would open.

Speaking to reporters on Monday, Transportation Minister Prabmeet Sarkaria noted that the Eglinton Crosstown is “one of the most complicated LRT projects.”

“I know it's been a very frustrating time on the Eglinton Crosstown project,” she said. “We need to make sure that the counterparties and those in the consortium are hitting the milestones that need to be hit.”

Sarkaria said that as soon as they have a “credible date,” the public will be made aware.

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Days earlier, Ontario’s official opposition renewed a call asking for Metrolinx CEO Phil Verster to be fired. They argued that the immense delay and growing budget for the transit line warranted a new CEO.

“For too long, successive Liberal and Conservative governments and their appointed CEOs have failed to deliver on promises and effectively manage major infrastructure projects," NDP GTA Issues critic Bhutila Karpoche said in a statement.

“It's time for the Ford government to finally take some responsibility for this never-ending project and remove Verster as CEO.”

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The comments came after Verster offered members of the media a tour of Yonge Station, where he again refused to provide a possible opening date for the transit line. When speaking to reporters, he said he wasn’t sure that residents would see the line complete in the next year.

"We are not going to be drawn in on a date. We are not going to guess which year it is," Verster said.

“I cannot see that it is sensible or responsible to declare an opening date now. But I give you and the communities an absolute commitment that once we get through the risks, defects, issues, that we are seeing, finding and fixing, that we will declare a date.”

Construction began on the Eglinton Crosstown in the summer of 2011. It was originally scheduled to open in 2020.

In a statement, NDP transit critic Joel Harden said he wasn’t surprised that there was no substantial update during the tour.

"The only tour Verster should be on is his farewell tour. Metrolinx keeps announcing they have no announcements, leaving transit riders in the dark. The public deserves answers, and they deserve them now."

Despite political calls for his resignation, Verster’s contract has been extended. The details of the contract, including when it was signed and for how long it was extended, remain unclear.