Citing a provincial budget of close to $132 billion, Mayor Gord Krantz says he’s “disappointed” that the Town’s main priorities were seemingly overlooked.
Those priorities, according to Krantz, were financial backing for the long-awaited Wilfrid Laurier satellite campus and for public transit.
The Wilfrid Laurier satellite campus is to be part of the 400-acre Milton Education Village (MEV), which has been in the works since 2008. The MEV, located south of Derry Road, west of Tremaine Road and north of Britannia Road, adjacent to the Niagara Escarpment, would include on-site housing, a business/research park, supporting services, an adjacent residential neighbourhood and the Mattamy National Cycling Centre.
The budget, Building Ontario Up, mentions the “major capacity expansion” infrastructure project, which the Province plans to award to a post-secondary institution, but very few details have been provided.
“I would only assume and hope that this thing isn’t dead,” he said in an interview with the Champion.
The education sector in this year’s budget was victim to austerity measures to deal with a multi-billion dollar deficit, including the freezing of public sector wages and future program cuts. Krantz said he believes this could be part of the reason for the lack of commitment to the multi-million dollar project. “I know they’re (Province) certainly under real constraints when it comes to the almighty dollar, especially as it relates to education.”
Halton MPP Indira Naidoo-Harris told the Champion the Ministry of Training Colleges and Universities and a panel of senior government officials has recently assessed the proposals that were submitted for the expansion and that next steps will be communicated at a later date.
Krantz admitted that although no timeline was ever officially given, he saw budget time as a perfect opportunity for some kind of commitment to be made.
“I’m not getting overly concerned or overly excited. It’s still a work in progress, whatever that means,” he said.
Brian Rosborough, senior executive officer for Laurier’s Brantford campus, told the Champion he’s confident in the proposal, adding Milton is ideally situated for a post-secondary institution.
“It’s the fastest growing area in the GTHA and there’s no access to a university or college,” he said, noting that these were the Province’s main conditions for acceptance.
Aside from the MEV, Krantz said he’s also disappointed that there was no commitment to two-way all-day GO service in Milton, especially with the biggest chunk of the Province’s money — $130 billion over 10 years — going into transit and infrastructure.
“I know they’ve added additional trains and what not. Every little wee bit helps, but we’ve been really striving for two-way, all-day GO service here. To alleviate our problems, there has to be,” he said.
The provincial government recently added six new weekday peak (morning/evening) trips with potential for weekend service over the next five years. This would increase the number of weekly trips on the Milton line from 90 to over 100.
But according to Krantz, the move isn’t sufficient to address the needs of a population with a growth rate of 56 per cent.
Naidoo-Harris said it’s important to look at the larger picture when it comes to transit. The budget includes a commitment to improve the Lakeshore line, including electrified service, which she said will be faster and more efficient. “And lot of people in Milton use that line too.”
Krantz said if all-day, two-way GO service is off the table, he hopes Milton will at least receive its piece of the pie when it comes to fixing roads, bridges and underpasses.
Naidoo-Harris acknowledged the challenges facing the Milton area when it comes to transit, infrastructure and managing growth, but said that overall, the budget is “really great.”
“It’s a plan to build opportunity and security. For me, this is a solid budget, a very responsible budget. It’s also an exciting budget,” she said.
The Province is expected to be out of debt by 2018 if it sticks to what it has laid out for its financial future. Harris said a big part of this accomplishment is the selling off of Provincial assets, namely Hydro One. The sale of the company is expected to raise $4 billion. The sale of beer in 450 grocery stores across Ontario is also slated to bring in an additional $100 million a year in tax revenue.
Milton’s mayor said in terms of financial planning, the Province should be wary of the aforementioned moves. “You could be killing the goose that lays the golden egg.”
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http://www.insidehalton.com/news-story/5604446-provincial-budget-comes-up-short-on-milton-s-priorities-krantz/