Randall Denley: Time for Doug Ford to go ‘elbows up’ against Carney’s high-speed Alto rail

Prime Minister Mark Carney shakes hands with Ontario Premier Doug Ford following the final news conference that ended the First Ministers meeting in Charlottetown, PEI, on July 23. (Tim Krochak/Postmedia) TIM KROCHAK PHOTO

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Is Ontario Premier Doug Ford willing to stand up to the prime minister in support of rural Ontarians? We’re about to find out.

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Ford and Prime Minister Mark Carney had an informal deal to support each other’s megaprojects. Ford wasn’t to complain about the swath of destruction Carney’s Alto high-speed rail project would cut through rural Ontario. In return, Carney would support Ford’s plan for a huge expansion of the downtown Toronto Billy Bishop airport.

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That all blew up Friday when the federal government refused to support the airport plan. The question now is, will Ford finally speak up about the rail plan that will create a fenced, 60-metre-wide corridor that will be like an impenetrable wall right through some of the most beautiful countryside in eastern Ontario? Unlike a conventional rail line, there will be no level crossings. The high-speed rail line blocks rural roads, cut farms in two and lead to the appropriation of homes. A lot of rural Ontarians are understandably upset.

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In an unusual departure from party solidarity, some of Ford’s own MPPs are leading the way on opposing Alto. They suggest people being affected aren’t being properly consulted. The Eastern Ontario PC caucus, which includes two cabinet ministers, released a statement Tuesday saying, “Public confidence in major infrastructure projects depends on meaningful consultation. In the case of Alto, too many questions remain unanswered. Too many voices have been ignored.” They cited the concerns of “municipalities, farmers, landowners and residents.”

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Ford himself hasn’t commented on his caucus members’ initiative, but his government is sending mixed messages on the value of public consultation.

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When the federal government rejected the airport expansion, the Ford government was evidently taken by surprise and had no public response until Tuesday of this week. Then it demonstrated that in politics, there is seldom a problem that can’t be made worse.

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Rather than accepting the setback graciously and promising to work with the federal government on a more suitable plan, the Ford government sent out Transportation Minister Prabmeet Sarkaria to play sore loser.

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Sarkaria criticized the federal government for listening to “a small fringe group in Toronto” that opposed the airport expansion, and vowed to keep pushing for the plan, even though the feds had just said no.

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The small fringe group Sarkaria referred to constituted 87,000 people who responded to a federal government online consultation. According to the government, 87 per cent of those respondents were against the airport expansion.

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Whatever credibility Sarkaria’s argument had was immediately undermined by his caucus colleagues’ call for public consultation on Alto.