Scarborough subway: Federal government offers $660 million

Premier Kathleen Wynne suggests the Ontario government is willing to change and expand the proposed new Scarborough subway line now that Ottawa is onside.

Wynne emphasized Monday that Transportation Minister Glen Murray’s controversial $1.4-billion two-stop plan from Kennedy Station to the Scarborough Town Centre is not set in stone.

“It’s very interesting that the federal government is coming to the table. That’s a good development,” she said, adding the provincial cash forced Prime Minister Stephen Harper to contribute.

That could mean the subway will be extended to Sheppard Ave. as Toronto Mayor Rob Ford has wanted.

At a separate news conference later, federal Finance Minister Jim Flaherty said Ottawa would contribute $660 million to the subway project.

Wynne lamented the “ad hoc” financial planning.

“The disconcerting part is just that it’s not systematic. It needs to be systematic. We need that ongoing partnership,” the premier said.

“Certainly this is not the way that I would like us to do our planning going forward,” she said.

With a file from Tess Kalinowski