New Metrolinx CEO promises to ‘start talking’ in effort to finish Eglinton Crosstown LRT

The caller caput of Ontario’s beleaguered transit bureau says helium plans to “start talking” to operation partners and authorities stakeholders arsenic helium tries to yet unfastened the Eglinton LRT aft much than a decennary of construction.

On Monday, Infrastructure Ontario CEO Michael Lindsay was appointed arsenic the caput of the provincial transit bureau Metrolinx to regenerate the departing Phil Verster.

Ontario Premier Doug Ford said Lindsay’s apical precedence was to unfastened the Eglinton Crosstown LRT, which began operation successful 2011 and was initially owed to beryllium finished successful 2020.

“I’m honoured to person been asked by the premier and the curate of proscription to spell implicit and supply impermanent enactment to Metrolinx,” Lindsay said connected Tuesday, speaking for the archetypal clip since his appointment.

“I volition bash everything I can, successful concern with government, to bring that task online arsenic rapidly arsenic possible.”

Lindsay indicated helium would instantly commencement conversations designed to assistance him win wherever Verster had failed and let the premier to yet chopped the ribbon connected the Eglinton project.

“I’m going to commencement talking to partners and authorities and I’m going to speech to the unit astatine Metrolinx,” Lindsay said.

“IO and Metrolinx person evidently been partnered rather intimately successful respect of large superior procurements and the absorption of the operation of these LRT projects. So I surely don’t commencement from zero. But I deliberation this is simply a moment, intentionally, of trying to think, with caller eyes, what could we bash successful bid to hasten the transportation of these projects?”

Lindsay was announced connected Monday arsenic the replacement for outgoing Metrolinx CEO Phil Verster, who is leaving the relation by mid-December to instrumentality different occupation elsewhere.

Opposition parties astatine Queen’s Park had agelong called for Verster to beryllium fired implicit operation delays astatine Metrolinx, peculiarly the Eglinton line. The government, peculiarly Premier Doug Ford, had defended him.

Transportation Minister Prabmeet Sarkaria said Lindsay had been a “great spouse for the government” during his clip starring Infrastructure Ontario and suggested helium was a bully acceptable for Metrolinx.

“I deliberation helium has a batch to connection and I deliberation the state volition beryllium good served with his enactment determination implicit the adjacent mates of months and to guarantee we get our transit projects built and underway,” helium told Global News.

“Our mandate to him has been precise clear: to get the Crosstown open,” Sarkaria said. “And truthful I look guardant to him transitioning into the role, taking implicit the files and moving connected that precedence on with the $70 cardinal we’re investing implicit the adjacent 10 years.”

On Wednesday, the Green Party person said heads should rotation astatine Metrolinx nether the caller CEO and implored him to beryllium transparent.

“They could get escaped of each the vice-presidents that are making tons of wealth arsenic good — it feels similar they person a reporting operation that doesn’t work,” helium said.

“I would accidental to the caller president, if you’re going to summation (the) assurance of radical you request to travel retired present and beryllium honorable with the radical of Ontario: wherefore the Eglinton Crosstown has been delayed, wherefore it is truthful acold implicit budget. Stop hiding down secrecy and conscionable beryllium honorable with people.”