Metrolinx is telling the consortium responsible for building the Finch West LRT, which has launched legal action, to “get out of court and back to work” as a growing spat threatens to delay the opening of another light rail line in Toronto.
The provincial transit agency issued a sharp statement directed at Mosaic Transit Partners — the group that won a $2.5-billion contract to design, build and maintain a light rail line on Finch Avenue — after Mosaic launched legal action claiming Metrolinx had entered into a problematic deal with the TTC.
The battle comes as the government celebrated significant progress on the Finch West LRT project, originally slated to be completed in 2023 and set to connect Line 1 of the Toronto subway to the Humber Polytechnique campus.
In its lawsuit, first reported by Global News, Mosaic argued that an agreement between Metrolinx and the TTC violated the original terms it signed onto and was making it impossible to finish the line.
Until the Finch West LRT is considered substantially complete, Metrolinx is withholding roughly $500 million from the consortium.
“We are working closely with Mosaic to get passengers on the Finch West LRT at the soonest possible date,” Metrolinx said in a statement sent to Global News.
“The CEOs of Metrolinx, Mosaic and its partner companies meet several times per month to work through challenges or problems that may come up in the delivery of this project. This is above and beyond the daily working relationship that exists among our technical teams.”
Earlier this year, with Mosaic “signalling” it had issues with liquidity, Metrolinx offered to give the consortium a substantial advance on the $500 million it was withholding until completion. The consortium has yet to reject or accept it, sources told had indicated to Global News.
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“Mosaic has been unable to reach internal agreement on this offer,” Metrolinx said.
“Mosaic’s recent loss of six weeks of schedule due to poor work planning and poor project management is unacceptable. It is time to complete the work necessary to start TTC driver training and get the line ready for opening.”
Meanwhile, frustration over transit construction delays in Toronto is growing.
Currently neither Eglinton nor Finch West have opening dates, leading to a desperate plea from Toronto Mayor Olivia Chow.
“Open these lines, please,” Chow said during an unrelated news conference at city hall on Tuesday. “It needs to be done yesterday.”
NDP transportation critic Joel Harden told Global News the situation has become “completely ridiculous” and believes the Ford government needs to enact accountability among the agency’s top brass.
“We’ve seen the number of executive vice-presidents at Metrolinx, since Doug Ford was elected premier in 2018, triple now to 72,” Harden said. “We’ve seen (Metrolinx CEO Phil) Verster’s salary climb enormously and we haven’t seen any transit get built, but people are stuck in traffic.”
While the NDP has long called for the CEO to be relieved of duty, Transportation Minister Prabmeet Sarkaria told a Queen’s Park committee in September that he has “100 per cent confidence” in Verster and Metrolinx.
“The minister has to demand action and if he won’t, the opposition will,” Harden said, suggesting his party will raise the issue in the Ontario legislature when it resumes on Oct. 21.
There are also calls for the premier to intervene in the contractual battle over the Finch West LRT.
“The fact that Metrolinx is withholding funds makes it deeply disturbing that there isn’t going to be a resolution any time soon, which means just further delay and higher costs for people,” Green Party Leader Mike Schreiner said.
“That’s exactly why the premier needs to step in and get this dispute resolved so we can get people moving in the city of Toronto and so taxpayers aren’t footing the bill for even more delays in transit construction.”
A spokesperson for Sarkaria would only say that the government “expect(s) parties to work together to deliver this project for the thousands of residents who will rely on it each and every day.”
Harden also wants the Ford government to look into tearing up contracts and potentially tap new builders to get the projects over the finish line.
“There’s two parties to a contract here,” Harden said. “At some point, if a duty isn’t being met to the people of Ontario who signed this contract with their government, then we have the right to revisit this contract.”
Mosaic won a contract in 2019 that included 30 years maintenance of the Finch West LRT, potentially complicating any suggestion of ending the deal early.
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