MPP Fife calls on Ontario to make stronger commitment to Kitchener-Toronto GO trains

Catherine Fife, the MPP for Kitchener-Waterloo, has tabled a motion asking the Ontario government to hold a vote on whether or not it will provide a "firm funding commitment and clear timeline" to deliver all-day, two-way, GO train services along the Kitchener-Waterloo corridor by 2024 — a promise that was made by Kathleen Wynne in 2014. 

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"This motion forces the government to vote on a debate and to vote on a plan," Fife said. "We're being strung along. I already feel this government is walking back on their promises." 

Fife said the Ontario long-term infrastructure plan that was released a week and a half ago didn't provide specific funding commitments for the regional express rail or the big bypass, a project that the Liberal government is currently negotiating with CN rail about. 

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"As of November, the agreement has not been finalized," Fife said. 

"I want this promise to explicitly be included in legislation in a long-term infrastructure plan," she said. "It's a document which guides the public policy of the Ministry of Transportation." 

Fife said the region is losing on economic potential because tech workers from the 12,800 companies in the area are losing time in traffic as they travel Highway 401 to and from Toronto. 

"The longer we wait, the higher the costs are going to go up," Fife said. "There really is an urgency to this issue."

The motion will be debated Thursday at Queen's Park at 2 p.m.