Ford says Eglinton Crosstown LRT still on track to open in September 2025

Ontario Premier Doug Ford says the Eglinton Crosstown light rail transit line is still on track to open this September.

"Yes, that is what I am hearing," Ford told reporters on Tuesday at Queen's Park. He did not provide an exact date.

The premier said he is hopeful that the Ontario government will hand over control of the Eglinton Crosstown to the Toronto Transit Commission in the next two weeks.

"I am hearing some positive things about Eglinton track, and hopefully we will be handing it over in the next couple weeks to the TTC and they will be doing their trial runs. And thank God, that is all I got to say about that and that project."

TTC spokesperson Stuart Green said the transit agency has no comment. "We have no updates at this time," he said in an email on Tuesday.

CBC Toronto has reached out to Metrolinx but has not yet heard back. Former Metrolinx CEO Phil Verster previously said the transit agency would announce an opening date for the crosstown three months ahead of time.

'We'll believe it when we see it': NDP

Ontario MPP Doly Begum, who represents Scarborough Southwest, said she was skeptical of the September opening date and noted the premier did not provide an exact date. 

"We'll believe it when we see it," Begum, who is the NDP's transit critic, said in a news release on Tuesday.

"The people of Ontario are tired of getting their hopes up only for another delay, another excuse. The very least the Government can do is give them real answers about when they can finally ride the LRT," Begum said.

The transit line, which has been beset by delays, is slated to have 25 stops along Eglinton Avenue, running 19 kilometres from Kennedy in the east to Mount Dennis in the west.

According to Metrolinx, the provincial transit agency, the line was initially set to open in 2020, but a series of technical problems and associated cost overruns have plagued the project and repeatedly delayed its completion. 

Two Toronto city councillors, Josh Matlow and Mike Colle, whose wards have been impacted by the ongoing construction, have called for a public inquiry into the much-delayed line.

Businesses have suffered for over a decade, owner says

One business owner says he has heard it all before and he is frustrated.

Jason McDonald, who owns a barber shop in Toronto's Little Jamaica neighbourhood and chair of the Little Jamaica BIA, said he thinks more compensation is needed from the provincial government and Metrolinx for the small businesses hard hit by the long delays.

McDonald said the Eglinton Crosstown has taken more than 15 years to build, which he called an "LRT experiment" and a "disaster."

"We've suffered from small business disruptions, both financially and culturally. Rat infestation, dirt and debris, safety and concerns, the list is on and on," McDonald said.

McDonald said he would like Ford to announce an actual opening date.

"You haven't given me a date and I was told this in 2015 by Dalton McGuinty and Kathleen Wynne. I was told this in 2018 by Mr. Tory. So it's 2025 now. Is it Mr. Ford's turn?" he said.

"This construction, it feels like it's never ending. So please Mr. Ford, if you're listening, we would like some form of support, some form of love, some form of compensation for all that we have been going through."

Construction began in 2011

Some BIAs in the Eglinton area banded together years ago to demand compensation from Metrolinx. The result was a $3 million fund from the provincial government. But McDonald said it didn't go far enough and no further compensation has been offered since.

Robert Chipman, a resident who lives on Eglinton Avenue, said he's been waiting for a long time for the transit line to open. 

"Well, I'll be relieved. I'll put it that way. As I said before, I walk out of my building ... and it stops right in front of my building. So it's going to be nice and convenient."

Construction began in 2011, when the province estimated it would cost about $9.1 billion to build and maintain the crosstown. Documents obtained by CBC Toronto in 2022 showed the project costs had jumped to at least $12.8 billion.