OTTAWA,  ON  –-- May 6, 2009  -----    At a Tuesday meeting requested by Thunder Bay–Superior North MP Bruce Hyer, the Northern Ontario MP urged federal Transport Minister John Baird to assist in funding the landmark TTC-Bombardier streetcar deal. The 10-year, $1.2 billion deal is the largest transit contract in the country’s history.

Baird said priorities identified by the City of Toronto to him did not include “recent submissions” such as the Toronto Transit Commission contract that “came out of the blue.”  The Minister said that the government’s motive is short-term economic stimulus, and that they have talked to the Ontario government to see if they’d take that approach as well. “We want stimulus now, not in 10 years.” he reiterated.

Hyer told Minister Baird that retooling work at the Bombardier factory alone would cost $92 million, and that the streetcar deal is the perfect shovel-ready project. “Jobs will be created right away, since engineering work and factory retooling will need to start immediately.” said Hyer.

Hyer pointed out that the new street cars project is also a stimulus project for the whole province. “Sure, Toronto needs the streetcars, but it will be struggling auto parts and assembly plants from Windsor to York Region to Durham, as well as Bombardier in Thunder Bay, that will be busy making them. Up to 1200 spinoff jobs will be created by this contract.” he said.

Trinity-Spadina MP Olivia Chow, a former TTC Vice-Chair, also spoke to Baird directly. “For the last two years, TTC has been working to buy new street cars. There’s been lots of communications between different levels of government – a Dec 16 letter from Mayor David Miller to Stephen Harper and Dalton McGuinty explicitly mentioned $368 million towards streetcar fleet replacement as the first priority. Toronto City Council also requested federal and provincial assistance for new street cars months ago after a unanimous vote.” Chow said.

Up to 300 direct jobs in Thunder Bay would be threatened if the federal funding is not forth coming by the end of June.