Ford government won’t share details of Hwy. 407 buyback plan it is ‘looking at’

The Ford government says it is “looking at” buying Highway 407 arsenic portion of its attempts to trim gridlock but won’t connection immoderate details of what that information looks similar and if immoderate enactment has taken spot down the scenes to beforehand the idea.

Ontario Transportation Minister Prabmeet Sarkaria was asked repeatedly connected Thursday astir plans Premier Doug Ford had antecedently indicated were underway to bring Highway 407 backmost into nationalist ownership astatine a imaginable outgo of $35 billion.

“Everything is simply a portion of the process — we volition proceed to look astatine each option, whether that beryllium the 407, whether that beryllium continuing to physique successful this province,” Sarkaria said.

The minister, however, repeatedly refused to connection details of what actions — if immoderate — the authorities had taken to prosecute the plan.

Asked if the state had contacted the owners of the 407 to sermon buying it, engaged consultants to measure the outgo oregon taken immoderate factual caller steps successful the program since Ford announced it, Sarkaria pivoted to speech astir highways successful general.

“Like we bash with each of our projects, we undertake and look astatine options crossed the assemblage to spot however we tin determination forward,” helium said.

Over astir 5 minutes, Sarkaria was asked 8 antithetic ways by reporters what enactment was being done to measure a imaginable Highway 407 buyback; helium didn’t say.

“We person to physique for the future,” helium said, successful effect to a question asking if it was financially omniscient to effort and acquisition the way for tens of billions of dollars.

While the authorities won’t accidental what work, if any, has taken spot to look astatine taking power of Highway 407 — oregon reducing tolls for it — Ontario Liberal MPP John Fraser said the state should person the resources to grip the survey in-house.

“You evidently person to speech to fiscal radical astir however you tin bash this,” helium said.

“Government’s perfectly susceptible of doing this, uncovering the resources and you don’t needfully request a ton of resources to bash it, it doesn’t person to beryllium an intensive project.”

The questions came aft the Ontario NDP filed a state of accusation petition looking astatine what enactment the authorities had done to survey the buyback. That petition yielded nary records, though a assortment of factors including the hunt presumption utilized oregon timeline could lend to the deficiency of records.

NDP Leader Marit Stiles accused Ford of “misleading” radical erstwhile helium said his authorities was looking astatine buying backmost the tolled highway.

“This is what we get from the premier and from this authorities clip and clip again — a batch of rhetoric, a batch of bully words, but they’re not really taking action,” she said.

“I’ll judge it erstwhile I spot — due to the fact that again, there’s nary grounds they’re adjacent considering it.”

Highway 407 has go a cardinal contented successful Ontario authorities and transportation, arsenic the Ford authorities has embarked connected an ambitious road operation plan.

The Progressive Conservatives ran their 2022 predetermination run nether the committedness of gathering Highway 413 and the Bradford Bypass, with absorption parties unanimously promising to cancel the former.

Recently, Premier Ford besides announced helium hoped to passageway a caller expressway nether Highway 401.

Opposition parties, however, person pointed repeatedly to debased postulation connected Highway 407, which was sold by the authorities to a backstage operator.

The NDP has peculiarly championed the thought of negotiating a woody for truckers to usage Highway 407, suggesting by removing them from Highway 401, gridlock would improve.

“I’ll punctual you, we person enactment guardant thing they could bash close now, a solution that would assistance a batch of radical — conscionable to region the tolls connected the 407 for truckers,” Stiles said.