Ford asks Horwath if NDP would plug Sheppard funding ‘gap’

Mayor Rob Ford said he might have a “gap” in private-sector funding for the Sheppard subway line and needs government help filling it, says NDP Leader Andrea Horwath.

She made the comments Wednesday after what appeared to be a cordial 54-minute meeting in Ford’s office, one of the mayor’s tête-à-têtes with each of the provincial leaders ahead of the Oct. 6 Ontario election.

Horwath said Ford asked her what an NDP government would do to help him build the $4.7 billion Sheppard line. Ford has suggested he would deliver on his key campaign promise through public-private partnerships, with federal and provincial governments providing only seed money.

“I said to him quite clearly that my understanding was that he was looking for private financing,” Horwath said.

“He said that that might not necessarily happen, in terms of there might be a gap, and I said if I’m in the premier’s chair at the time, and you determine what the gap is, we’ll have a conversation.”

Ford has not publicly acknowledged his administration’s reported difficulty attracting enough private investment to get the project off the ground.

In mid-August, the mayor went to Queen’s Park to ask Liberal Premier Dalton McGuinty for early access to $650 million in Sheppard funding the province had promised only if it is available after the Eglinton light-rail line is built. McGuinty was publicly cool to Ford’s plea but said he would consider the request.

The NDP was a strong supporter of the Transit City light-rail plan that Ford tore up, but is alone among the three main parties in pledging to pay half the TTC’s annual operating budget.

The mayor, a provincial and federal Conservative, wouldn’t comment to reporters about specific parts of the NDP platform, which will later include policies on capital funding for municipal transit.

When asked if he’ll throw his political weight, as expected, behind Progressive Conservative Leader Tim Hudak, Ford said he hadn’t decided if he’ll make a public endorsement. He noted he waited until just before the federal election before endorsing Prime Minister Stephen Harper.

“I’m listening to all the leaders, I’m meeting with all of them, and who’s ever going to benefit the city of Toronto the most, I’ll be supporting,” Ford said.

Ford has not yet had his official meeting with Hudak. But they will no doubt chat on Friday at “Ford Fest”, a big gathering in Ford’s mother’s sprawling Etobicoke backyard. Hudak’s office confirmed to the Star’s Robert Benzie that the PC leader will attend.

Councillor Doug Ford, the mayor’s brother, said party leaders who attend will be given five minutes to speak.

Horwath said her schedule forced her to decline Ford’s invitation to the event, but noted that he extended it to any of her candidates.

City starting to scrub away Layton tribute

The city is starting to scrub away tributes to NDP Leader Jack Layton in Nathan Phillips Square, and expects the chalk messages and makeshift memorial to be gone by Tuesday.

“There’s going to be a general tidying,” said city spokesman Rob Andrusevich.

He said Wednesday that staff would soon start removing dead flowers and rotting fruit from the memorial at the square’s east side. They will also scrub out chalk messages on and around the City Hall doors and on The Archer, a Henry Moore statue in the square.

As for the hundreds of chalk messages on paving stones and along the concrete balustrade, “we’re going to let nature take its course and see how much of the chalk is removed (by rain) on Tuesday and then reassess,” he said.

Also on Tuesday, the memorial will be dismantled. Flowers, fruit, open pop cans and other items will be put in recycling bins. Letters, photos and other personal items will be offered to Layton’s family, including his son Councillor Mike Layton and wife NDP MP Olivia Chow.

Mike Layton has returned to work part-time. His staff have informally been removing dead flowers and tidying up the memorial.

The impromptu tributes, in many colours and languages, started appearing after Layton died Aug. 22, weeks after being diagnosed with an undisclosed cancer. Many messages, including some erased by rainfall and replaced, quoted Layton’s farewell letter: “Love is better than anger. Hope is better than fear.”

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Source: Toronto Star