Mayoral candidate plans to sue Metrolinx for $1 billion
One mayoral candidate is vowing to sue Metrolinx for $1 billion over delays to the Eglinton Crossstown, while another says he would push for the termination of the provincial transit agency’s CEO instead.
On Friday morning, candidate Anthony Furey announced his plans to sue Metrolinx for $1 billion if elected. The proposed lawsuit would be for what Furey called Metrolinx’s “contractual breaches and persistent failures” with regards to the Eglinton Crosstown LRT.
Construction on the $5 billion project began in 2011 and was initially slated to be completed by 2020.
There is still no timeline for when the LRT will be operational.
“It’s been over a decade of this and the people of Toronto have politely accepted delay after delay, poor communication, gridlock and harm to businesses along a major street,” Furey said. “City council has been quietly accepting this shoddy performance, but it’s now time to get noisy and show that we won’t take it anymore. Someone has to protect the taxpayers and stand up for the people of Toronto.”
Furey said any proceeds from legal action would be distributed to businesses and BIAs on Eglinton Avenue.
“Transportation Minister Caroline Mulroney and Metrolinx boss Phil Verster want to blame the contractors, but that won’t cut it,” Furey said. “It’s their job to manage the contractors and they’re just not doing their job.”
In a press conference on Thursday, Verster said one of the main causes for the Crosstown LRT delay is track laid outside of Metrolinx's requirements, a mistake that is now being fixed by CTS.
He said there are also more than 200 other quality control issues that Crosslinx needs to fix.
"We are withholding substantial payments against completion of the project," he said, declining to provide an estimated opening date for the LRT.
Mayoral candidate Brad Bradford has also called for strict penalties against Metrolinx.
On Friday Bradford held a press conference, where he committed to calling on the provincial government to fire Verster and replace him with "someone in charge who can actually get the job done."
“For the average working person, if they don’t perform and consistently blow their targets, they don’t get a raise and may even lose their job,” he said in a news release.
Crosslinx filed a lawsuit against Metrolinx and Infrastructure Ontario in October 2020, saying that they should not be held accountable for delays in cost overruns on the project because of the COVID-19 pandemic. A judge eventually sided with the consortium, and the two sides renegotiated an agreement in December that called for the line to be substantially completed by September 2022.
That, however, didn’t happen, and Mulroney said on Thursday that the consortium is yet to provide a “credible” timeline.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
DEVELOPING Live updates: Hurricane Milton makes landfall in Florida
The 'extremely dangerous Category 3 hurricane' has made landfall near Siesta Key, Fla., according to the U.S. National Hurricane Center.
Hundreds of thousands of popular vehicles recalled in Canada over steering issue
Hundreds of thousands of vehicles are being recalled in Canada due to a steering-related issue that could increase a driver's risk of crash.
'We want things to go forward': Bloc leader hints his party 'might' help end House impasse
The leader of the Bloc Quebecois says his party 'might play a role' in helping the Liberals get House of Commons business rolling again — after days of Conservative-led debate on a privilege matter — but that his assistance would come at a cost.
video Why are there cars in the Detroit River?
Dozens of cars were pulled out of the Detroit River in west Windsor on Tuesday, causing many questions for Windsorites.
Washington state woman calls 911 after being hounded by up to 100 raccoons
Sheriff's deputies in Washington's Kitsap County frequently get calls about animals -- loose livestock, problem dogs. But the 911 call they received recently from a woman being hounded by dozens of raccoons swarming her home near Poulsbo stood out.
Pilot dies aboard Turkish Airlines flight, forcing emergency landing in New York
A Turkish Airlines jetliner headed from Seattle to Istanbul made an emergency landing in New York on Wednesday after the captain died on board, an airline official said.
Former CIA director says Israel 'unlikely' to target Iranian nuclear sites as retaliation
Former CIA Director and retired Gen. David Petraeus says it is 'unlikely' Israel will target Iranian nuclear sites in retaliation for last week's ballistic missile attack.
Rare Monet returned to family more than 80 years after it was stolen by Nazis
A Claude Monet pastel painting stolen by Nazis during World War II, which vanished for decades only to show up with a Louisiana art dealer, was returned Wednesday in New Orleans to the descendants of its original owners.
Women say they were kicked off of Spirit Airlines flight for what they were wearing
Two Orange County women are speaking out after they say they were kicked off of a Spirit Airlines flight because of what they were wearing.