(Reuters distributed the following article by Amran Abocar on November 13.)
TORONTO — Canada’s transport minister unveiled plans for a rail service linking the country’s biggest airport to downtown Toronto on Thursday but the project may come under review with the arrival of a new prime minister who has already vowed to review Ottawa’s spending plans.
Transport Minister David Collenette said the absence of major federal funding for the project means there should be no objections from Paul Martin, the man slated to become Canada’s next prime minister.
“Everyone is on the same page on this one,” Collenette told reporters.
Martin replaces Prime Minister Jean Chretien as leader of Canada’s ruling Liberal Party on Friday and as prime minister some time before Jan. 12 when Parliament returns.
Last month, Martin’s staff pointedly warned Via Rail, the struggling state-run passenger rail system, not to spend a penny of nearly C$700 million promised them by Collenette until his new cabinet conducts a spending review.
Last week, Martin said the dwindling surplus reinforced the need for a “line by line” review of spending plans.
“Collenette’s going to be gone from the cabinet, I’m sure there’s no love lost between the two,” said Harry Koza, an analyst at Thomson IFR.
“Maybe because it’s a Collenette idea, it automatically gets bagged. It might not be a surprise if that happens. But I don’t think (Martin) needs to be vindictive.”
The Ontario Motor Coach Association was quick to ask Martin to scuttle the project in favor of an “airport coachway”.
“His government should not be railroaded, so to speak, into funding the more expensive, tax money-dependent rail link that seems to be the latest “legacy project” announced in the dying days of the Chretien administration,” the group said.
Union Pearson Airlink Group, a unit of Montreal engineering firm SNC-Lavalin Group, won approval to build the rail link connecting Union Station to Pearson International Airport.
The group will finance, design, construct and operate the service, which is called Blue22 and is intended to reduce traffic congestion in Canada’s biggest city.
Collenette said the new rail service could eliminate up to 1.5 million annual car trips in its first full year of operation, possibly by 2008.
The winning consortium, which also includes O&Y Properties Corp., will build a 3.2-km (2-mile) line to connect the airport to existing track currently used by GO Transit, a suburban train service, and Canadian National Railway .
SNC-Lavalin shares closed up 24 Canadian cents at C$48.00 on the Toronto Stock Exchange.