Gerard Kennedy

January 27, 2009

Public Letter to Hon. John Baird, Federal Minister of Transportation and Hon. Kathleen Wynne, Ontario Minister of Transportation

As elected federal representatives for areas affected by the current expansion and construction of the GO transit system by Metrolinx, we make an urgent appeal for your immediate action in the face of the treatment by Metrolinx of a recent decision number 507-R-2009 by the Canadian Transportation Agency (CTA).

As you know, the CTA is the only authority that citizens can turn to for protection from any impact to their health and well being caused by the noise and vibration that arises from the railway right-of-way. The CTA considered the facts of an application made in June 2009 from local residents in the Junction area of Toronto affected by extreme construction conditions, which began in January of 2009. The CTA ruled in December 2009 that modifications were required to protect area citizens and businesses.

Metrolinx did not ultimately appeal to the CTA for a reconsideration based on new facts, as it had the right to do. Nor did it attempt to meet with or otherwise work with the affected community to work out the implementation of the ruling.

Instead, Metrolinx chose to go directly to the Federal Court of Appeal to have the ruling stayed and overturned. In doing so, Metrolinx may effectively rob all area citizens, not only those of the Junction, of the protection of their interests to which they are entitled. The application to courts in this manner creates a burden of expense that is unfair and out of the means of the residents. Further, the effect of a stay of the decision, if granted to Metrolinx this Thursday, January 28th, will be to defer resolution of the matter until after the completion of the construction a year from now, given the length of time that it takes to hear such an appeal. This will deny any protection to citizens who have already endured an entire year of intolerable conditions, and allow Metrolinx to elude any accountability.

At stake is the reasonable and important finding that “[t]he interests of communities affected by noise and vibration must be considered at first instance by railway companies and urban transit authorities in determining how best to perform their activities in order to meet their obligation …”

This is not acceptable behavior from any railway company, let alone one meant to operate fully in the public interest. Railway companies enjoy significant rights such as the exemption of railway right-of-ways from most provincial and municipal laws, and therefore they must also have obligations as corporate citizens to respect the rules that they are bound under.

Further, maneuvers such as this can only erode public confidence and actually undermine Metrolinx’s ability to provide the expansion of transit services, a goal that both levels of government have a stake in achieving.

It is essential that as the responsible Ministers you make clear to Metrolinx that this kind of end run around the public interest will not be supported.

We request respectively that you direct Metrolinx to withdraw its application for a stay and appeal of the CTA decision in favour of working with the community (province) and that you make clear that the CTA decision would be upheld by federal cabinet, which is the ultimate source of subsequent appeal.

Further, we ask that you work together to create an effective community decision mechanism that will better protect residents from any adverse health impacts arising from the planned expansion, including the issue of electrification vs. diesel, and thereby ensure that community needs are taken into account ahead of time as the CTA decision requires.

We note that you as responsible Ministers and/or the respective federal and provincial cabinets not only have the power to uphold the public interest through directives to Metrolinx and the CTA, but that you are also the only elected officials who can preserve this mechanism of citizen protection.

Gerard Kennedy, MP Alan Tonks, MP Judy Sgro, MP Mario Silva, MP

Parkdale High Park York South –Weston York West Davenport

Andrew Kania, MP Navdeep Bains, MP Ruby Dhalla,MP Rob Oliphant, MP

Brampton West Brampton Mississauga Brampton Springdale Don Valley West

Bonnie Crombie, MP Borys Wrzesnewskyj, MP Gurbax Malhi, MP

Mississauga–Streetsville Etobicoke Centre Brampton Gore-Malton

Paul Szabo, MP

Mississauga South

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Toronto – Gerard Kennedy, M.P. for Parkdale-High Park is hosting a next day “Budget Breakfast” to allow area residents to review and give feedback on the 2010 Federal Budget which will be presented to Parliament on Thursday March 4th in Ottawa.

At the Community Council meeting on February 18, Gerard released a 8-page report that details his parliamentary and community initiatives and activities since October.

Liberal MPs today called on the Harper government to increase funding for the federal program to prevent and reduce homelessness, and commit to sustained, long term funding.