Category Archives for "Latest News"

Petitions to Fund the “Bear Train”

By Transport Action Ontario | Intercity Rail and Bus , Latest News , Northern Ontario

The Coalition for Algoma Passenger Trains, along with other stakeholders, have initiated petitions to the federal and Ontario governments to each fund 50% of the cost to restore passenger train service between Sault Ste. Marie and Oba Lake, in the form of the Mask-wa Oo-ta-ban (Cree for “Bear Train”. Here are the details of the petitions and how to sign:

The Coalition for Algoma Passenger Trains (CAPT) is now launching official federal and Ontario provincial petitions in support of Mask-wa Oo-ta-ban, the Bear Train (the passenger train).   When the petitions are signed by June 12, 2026 they will be presented by our MP Terry Sheehan to the House of Commons and by MPP Bill Rosenberg to the Ontario Legislature. The petitions support Mask-wa Transportation Association Inc (MTA Inc)’s applications for federal and provincial funding for Phase 1 of the restoration of the passenger train from Sault Ste. Marie to the south end of Oba Lake.  After the Bear Train successfully runs in Phase I, MTA Inc. will apply for funding for Phase II which will be extended to Hearst For the federal government there are English and French electronic and paper petitions. These petitions can be signed by citizens of Canada. People can sign both the paper petition and the e-petition. Federal Electronic petition links:Petition e-7001 (English) Pétition e-7001 (Français)We have also included a printable sheet with information and a QR code to support access to the e-petition. Printable E-Petition QR code and information sheet link:Printable E-Petition QR code and information sheetThose signing the e-petitions will be required to verify their email address in order to authenticate the signature. If the email is not validated, the signature will not count towards the petition. Please widely share the links to the e-petition with friends, relatives, and contacts. Federal Paper Petition links:Printable Petition e-7001 (English)Printable Pétition e-7001 (Français)or For the Ontario government there are English and French paper petitions only, no electronic petitions. These petitions can be signed by residents of Ontario. Provincial Paper Petition links:Printable Bear Train Petition (English)Printable Bear Train Petition (Français)You can print blank English and/or French Federal and Provincial paper petitions and ask your friends, relatives and other contacts to sign them. Please sign a petition to the Federal Government AND a petition to the Ontario Government.  Signed paper petitions can be dropped off at the following locations: -In Dubreuilville at the Civic Centre -In Wawa at the Civic Centre -In Sault Ste. Marie at: (a) Missanabie Cree First Nation, 601 Queen St. East (northeast corner of Queen and Brock)  (b) Algoma Country (334 Bay St.), Monday to Friday, 9AM to 5PM (c) NORDIK Institute (Elgin Tower, 390 Bay St.) on Wednesdays, 9AM to 5PM -Paper petitions can also be mailed to Coalition for Algoma Passenger Trains, 1254 Queen St. East  Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario P6A 2E7 Thank you for your time, efforts, and energy. Your support of this petition, Mask-wa Oo-ta-ban (the Bear Train), and the return of passenger rail to the North is appreciated and helps support passenger rail getting back on track. CAPT will continue to keep you updated on a rolling basis.

Southwestern Ontario Forgotten in Transportation Upgrades

By Transport Action Ontario | Intercity Rail and Bus , Latest News , Southwestern Ontario

Transport Action Ontario (TAO) board member Ken Westcar recently published an op-ed about transportation in southwestern Ontario (SWO) in the London Free Press. Although the article expresses his personal opinions, they do mirror the opinions of Transport Action Ontario:

• The growing and aging population, the higher costs of car ownership and increasing road congestion all require action to improve pubic transportation in SWO.

• Despite extensive and well-researched input from a Task Force and from stakeholders like TAO, no transportation plan has emerged for SWO after over 6 years of study.
• Provincial budget announcements have contained no meaningful investments for public transport for SWO, in contrast to Greater Toronto and northern Ontario.

TAO will continue to urge completion of the SWO Transportation Plan and for investment in public transportation. For example, in 2025 we identified 5 low-cost rail investments in SWO that would improve passenger and freight operations. They continue to be good ideas that should be implemented.

Lessons Learned from Eglinton Crosstown LRT Project

By Transport Action Ontario | Latest News , Uncategorized , Urban Transit

The Toronto Eglinton Crosstown LRT (Line 5) started up on February 8, 2026 and has received mostly good reviews from the public.  However, as readers know, the $13 billion Design-Build-Finance-Maintain project was beset by many problems – $ 1 billion over budget, 6-years late, litigation, pandemic and community disruption.

There have been calls for a public inquiry, but Premier Ford has rejected this idea. There are also calls for an investigation by the Auditor General. A thorough review of the project could reveal opportunities for improvements in future Infrastructure Ontario projects to deliver on-time and on-budget.

At the Metrolinx board meeting of February 12, Metrolinx CEO Michael Lindsay spoke at length about lessons learned.  His remarks were not covered by the media, but are informative and summarized below:

• Private sector partner (Crosslink Transit Solutions) underestimated the risk at the time of bid.  Their bid was based on a 30% design.  Metrolinx has now changed its contracting strategy and is using mostly progressive contracts, where the private partner and Metrolinx work cooperatively on the design to develop a final price.
• Too much litigation.  As the project ran into trouble, the contracting partners turned to claims and litigation, rather than focusing on project completion.  More compromising is needed.
• Slow approvals.  As there are always surprises in underground work, processes need to be in place for quick approvals of alternate plans.  For Line 5, the big surprise was discovering cavities dating back to the 1950s in the concrete station box under Eglinton subway station.
• Need early focus on system integration.  There were interface issues between the civil infrastructure, the vehicles and the systems.  Need to focus early on final testing and commissioning.
• Avoid commercial disputes within the private partner.  There were issues between the partners forming Crosslink and should have been avoided.
• Need better public communications.  This includes cost ranges and schedule delays.

Mr. Lindsay said that Metrolinx has taken these learnings to heart and has implemented changes on its current projects, like the 4 subway projects current underway.  We certainly hope that is the case, and that the changes prove effective.  Metrolinx must also ensure that lessons learned are retained within the organisation and not lost due to institutional amnesia.

“Transit over Traffic” Report Receives Broad Media Interest

By Transport Action Ontario | Highways and Bridges , Latest News , Urban Transit

Our report “Transit over Traffic: Hard Truths for Addressing Gridlock in the GTHA”, published December, 2025, continues to receive broad media attention. The Daily Commercial News, a magazine focusing on infrastructure, published a good summary article on January 23, 2026, here.

Submission to Ontario 2026 Budget Consultations

By Transport Action Ontario | Community Transit , Highways and Bridges , Intercity Rail and Bus , Latest News , Northern Ontario , Southwestern Ontario , Urban Transit

Transport Action Ontario (TAO) has provided input into Ontario’s 2026 Budget as part of its consultation process. We limited our comments to public transportation needs. Our seven points are highlighted below:

• Increase Ontario Transit Investment Fund. This fund is intended to support rural intercommunity bus service and is inadequate to meet the demand of our many smaller and rural municipalities.
• Fund completion, publication and execution of the Southwestern Ontario Transportation Plan. This long-delayed plan needs to be finalized for this growing region.
• Introduce provincial banking of discontinued rail corridors, ie “rail bank”. Although Ontario has introduced a Short Line Railway Investment Tax Credit, it has not acted on the equally important issue of railway segments (often owned by short line railways) being discontinued and not preserved as transportation corridors.
• Deep dive into capital costs and procurement model for rapid transit in Ontario. Capital costs have been rising rapidly, threatening our ability to fund and construct additional important transit infrastructure.
• Cancel Highway 413 and the proposed Highway 401 tunnel. A recent report, coauthored by TAO, shows that rapid transit in this part of the GTA would be at least twice as cost-effective than Highway 413 for moving people and goods.
• Fund additions to “de-risk” the Northlander train service. We believe that auxiliary power should be available on each train, and that two sleeper cars should be added to each train set.
• New Revenue tools. Municipalities need new tools, such as a portion of the provincial sales tax or a land transfer tax. The province needs to test road pricing as a proven means of congestion reduction and revenue generation.

Our full submission can be viewed below.