THUNDER BAY – Provincial dollars spent to revitalize Toronto’s public transit system are expected to bring benefit to the rest of Ontario.
That’s what MPP Bill Mauro (Lib., Thunder Bay-Atikokan) said he reminded Toronto Transit Commission chair Josh Colle during a 15 minute conversation on Monday, coming nearly a week after TTC officials publicly contemplated barring Bombardier from bidding on future contracts due to the company’s delays to meet delivery deadlines for streetcars produced at their Thunder Bay plant.
“I’m not in any way shape or form trying to sound insensitive to him and his concerns relative to the timing of the contract and I wasn’t looking to leave him with that impression but at the same time I think clearly there should be a path forward that doesn’t preclude Bombardier from bidding on future contracts,” Mauro said in a Tuesday afternoon phone interview with tbnewswatch.com, adding he reminded Colle about the provincial government's 25 per cent Canadian content policy.
The $1.2 billion streetcar contract, which was inked in 2009, gave Bombardier an order for 204 vehicles.
The terms of that agreement called for 67 of those vehicles to be in service. However, there are currently only 10 operational streetcars available for Toronto tracks.
On multiple occasions Bombardier has revised their delivery schedule, most recently informing the TTC they would only be able to deliver an additional 16 by the end of 2015, down from the 23 they had announced during the summer.
That has drawn the ire of users and elected officials in Toronto, with many members of the public and media outlets calling for legal action, including invoking a $50 million late delivery penalty, along with a review of whether future work should be sourced to Bombardier.
The TTC is scheduled to hold a board meeting on Wednesday where they will discuss what if any action should be taken against Bombardier.
On Monday, Unifor Local 1075 president Dominic Pasqualino told tbnewswatch.com that losing Toronto contracts would be “devastating” for the long-term future of the city’s plant.
Mauro acknowledged the importance of Toronto’s business to the security of local jobs.
“When we were elected there were 200 to 250 people employed there and now they’re at 1,300 to 1,500, give or take, and that employment is directly connected to our provincial government’s commitment to mass transit,” he said.
”Given that Toronto currently is their largest customer by far and I think on a go forward basis given our government’s commitment and support for mass transit procurement there’s the possibility of there being significant employment there for years to come and we need to do everything we can to ensure as best we’re able to position that plant to be part of that mix.”
Mauro also discussed the history of the plant in building vehicles for Toronto, which dates back more than 30 to 40 years.
In addition to the much-maligned streetcars, the local Bombardier plant in the past decade received two contracts totaling more than $1 billion for TTC subway cars, as well as a $770 million deal in 2010 to build 182 light-rail vehicles for Metrolinx. In 2014 there was a $255 million agreement for 65 bi-level cars for GO Transit, with an option for an additional 75 cars that would bring the value of the contract to $480 million.
“I reminded him of the long history this plant has and that for most of the entire history of that plant it has been an unblemished, incredible record of production and on-time work, quality work by the workforce,” Mauro said.
“It’s not just about the one contract. That’s why we spoke about the history and that’s why we spoke about all the other work that’s going on.”
Colle said he has had discussions with both Mauro and fellow local MPP Michael Gravelle (Lib., Thunder Bay-Superior North) who along with Thunder Bay municipal officials have stressed the importance of the city's plant and local manufacturing jobs.
While potential actions against Bombardier are expected to be discussed at Wendesday's meeting Colle said he is primarily concerned with getting the cars in service as quickly as possible.
