Fonthill Kame, Ridgeville, Strategic Funding & GO Rail at AMO Conference

Last week, Councillor Papp, Town CAO Ottaway, Treasurer Quinlin, and I attended the Association of Municipalities of Ontario (AMO) Conference in Ottawa. The annual three-day conference offered a range of learning sessions and networking opportunities for the more than 1,500 delegates.

While at AMO, your Pelham representatives also met with various Ministries to directly advanced your interests with the Provincial Government.

(Photo credit: AMO)

We met with Kathryn McGarry, Minister of Natural Resources (MNR), about increasing the protection of the Fonthill Kame. For the last nine years, we effectively used AMO and “Niagara Week” meetings to urge the Province to enhance the Area of Natural & Scientific Interest (ANSI) protections of the Kame. For the last couple of years we thanked the Provincial Government for finalizing those protections in late 2013. Now, we asked to work together with MRN Staff to add more of the Fonthill Kame to the protections offered by the Niagara Escarpment Plan.

We also thanked the Minister for recognizing the historic hamlet of Ridgeville during the Greenbelt review. Now that the Government fixed this Greenbelt error, we will work together with the Region and Province to delineate, re-designate, and re-zone the “rural commercial” / boutique Ridgeville area.

We also met with Daiene Vernile, MPP & Parliamentary Assistant to Minister of Transportation (MTO), and with Grant Crack, MPP & Parliamentary Assistant to the Minister of Agriculture, Food & Rural Affairs, about funding for municipalities. We encouraged the government to fund municipal projects that help create wealth and prosperity for a community; we spoke not only about projects like downtown revitalizations but also community and cultural facilities like community centres and libraries. We also discouraged the government from investing in projects that create more sprawl – like urban boundary expansions or “smart centers” disconnected from community.

We listened to the three party leaders discuss and dismiss the AMO idea of a 1% increase in the HST to help fund municipal infrastructure.

Shockingly, one party leader also spouted a lie that needs to be quashed. Mr. Brown, leader of the opposition, told the hundreds of delegates that the Government broke their promise of extending GO Rail to Niagara. Later, the PC Party Press Office cited a 2014 quote from Jim Bradley, St. Catharines MPP, in which he stated that he thought the government would announce Niagara GO in 2015.

However, since the Region failed to deliver the case for support for GO Rail to the Premier by the end of 2014 (as she requested), how can anyone blame the government for inaction? In fact, because we delivered the business case after they finalized their 2015 budget, the Government and Metrolinx made the announcement for GO Rail to Niagara at their first opportunity – in the 2016 Budget. Since that and the formal announcement in June 2016, the Government and Metrolinx have continued to work on expanding GO Rail to Grimsby in 2021 and St. Catharines & Niagara Falls in 2023, as promised.

You may contact Mayor Dave at mayordave@pelham.ca and view past columns at www.pelhammayordave.blogspot.ca.

Leveraging & Accelerating GO Rail

Bob Tymczyszyn/St. Catharines Standard/Postmedia Network

Following months of anticipation, the Provincial Government’s June 28th announcement to expand GO train service into Niagara created much excitement. Now that we’ve had a couple of weeks to reflect, how can we make this opportunity even better?

Significant Works: 
While some have bemoaned the 2021 (Grimsby) and 2023 (St. Catharines & Niagara Falls) timetable, others realize that Metrolinx (the Provincial corporation that runs GO Transit) must undertake extensive work to extend GO Rail to Niagara.

Since CN owns the track upon which GO Rail to Niagara will travel, improvements must “occur in coordination with CN along their corridor, ensuring no impacts to CN and AMTRAK rail services.”

These works include adding 21 km of track in Niagara and 12 new track crossovers (switches); improving and modifying 17 road crossings; building new Confederation (Stoney Creek) and Casablanca (Grimsby) stations; significantly upgrading St. Catharines and Niagara Falls stations; upgrading signals and rail traffic control system; and constructing a train layover facility in Niagara Falls.

The Province continues to negotiate an agreement with CN to undertake this work. “When an agreement with CN is reached, Metrolinx will undertake planning and design work required to implement the service.” (Tribune, 29 June 2016, p1.)

Transfer Service:
During our pre-announcement technical briefing, the Chief Operating Officer of Metrolinx told Niagara Mayors and Regional Chair that the “track to Confederation is fundamental to Niagara’s expansion.” Why? Because, similar to as we outlined in our 2015 business case, Niagara’s service will be a “transfer service” to the Lakeshore West rail service via the Confederation station.

Funding In Place:
Importantly, Minister Del Duca confirmed that all internal approvals “are in place, including financial approvals, to deliver GO train service to Niagara.” He also stated that the “Station work is not time critical” and some of the station upgrades in Niagara Falls and St. Catharines will begin in 2017.

But, Can We GO Faster?
Some have asked how we might accelerate GO service to Niagara. It’s a good question because the Minister indicated that “If, as a result of this important process, work can progress faster, it will.”

Obviously, because this will be a transfer service, the “opening of the Stoney Creek GO Station in 2019 will impact the plan for Niagara.”

But, much depends on the negotiations and planning with CN and roll-out of the plans. Since these factors are not in Niagara’s direct control, I believe the worst thing we could do is “rest on our laurels.”

Instead, I believe Niagara Region should take the opportunity to get involved in discussions with CN and Metrolinx to try to advance the timetable. Let’s take a “We are here to help and want to partner with you,” approach.

And, while we must keep pushing for GO Rail, I believe this announcement encourages us to continue to concentrate on developing a regional transit service. Let’s get an integrated transit service finalized by the end of 2017 and show the Province we are serious about public transportation in Niagara.

Provincial Budget Good News for Niagara & Pelham

Finance Minister Sousa presenting the
2016 Provincial Budget, February 25.

There was a lot of excitement across Niagara and in Pelham last week following the release of the 2016 Provincial Budget.

First, in their Budget, released last Thursday, the Provincial Government committed to extending GO Rail service to Niagara. After submitting our formal business case last spring, all are thrilled to have this commitment in a significant Provincial document.

The budget states: "Subject to agreement with freight rail partners, two-way, all-day rail services on the. Kitchener and Milton GO corridors, and extension of GO rail service to Niagara and Bowmanville."

It’s as if the oft-repeated phrase of my colleague, Niagara Falls Mayor Jim Diodati, came true: “It’s not a question of ‘if’ GO rail comes to Niagara, it’s a question of ‘when’!”

And, while we don’t yet know when, Minister Jim Bradley, MPP St. Catharines and huge GO Rail Niagara advocate, explained last week that Transportation Minister Del Duca will provide more information before the end of June.

As we wait for that, we should keep in mind that it will take some time to get the Niagara GO business plan up-and-running. At best, the Province and Metrolinx could take some interim steps as early as next year; however, property acquisition, station construction, and track refurbishment for a run all-the-way to the Falls will take a couple of years. And, I wonder whether the opening of the Stoney Creek GO Station in 2019 will impact the plan for Niagara.

So, while we must keep pushing for GO Rail, I believe this announcement allows us now to concentrate on developing an integrated regional transit service. With our spring 2017 deadline approaching, I was pleased that the Region, in partnership with Welland, St. Catharines, and Niagara Falls, issued a request for proposals last week to help develop an integrated service.

Second, small municipalities like Pelham (with populations under 100,000) also heard great news in the Budget.

The Province announced it would triple – from $100 million to $300 million – the Ontario Community Infrastructure Fund (OCIF) by 2018-19. This fund will provide predictable funds for critical infrastructure projects. And, importantly for Pelham, we also heard that the Province will no longer penalize growing municipalities with good fiscal records. You will recall that Pelham lobbied the Province for this change since they denied us funding last year because of our community’s high property values and high-quality infrastructure compared to other Towns.

The Province also committed to match the Federal government’s $272 million commitment for the jointly administered “Small Community’s Fund” to “help address local priorities and support economic growth.”

On behalf of Council, I thank the Province for the commitment to Niagara GO Rail and support of small communities like Pelham.