Statement by Dave Minard

Hamilton has done the hard work. Twelve years of planning, more than 70 votes of City Council, seven provincial and municipal elections voting for leaders who support LRT, thousands of Hamiltonians expressing the support, and business leaders investing millions of dollars along the LRT route. We've done the hard work. All we want is fairness for Hamilton.

Last year, Premier Ford said, "I support building the Hamilton LRT because the people of this great city deserve a working transit system. This is an investment that will create jobs, countless new jobs and stimulate economic development." After the last municipal election, Premier Ford said, "When people democratically elect someone, if [Mayor Eisenberger] wants an LRT, he's gonna get an LRT...that's democracy."

Now we're literally three months away from receiving the final bids to build and operate the system, and Transport Minister Mulroney cites inflated costs as a reason for killing the project at the 11th hour. The firms competing to win the contract are telling LIUNA they don't understand where the government got its latest inflated numbers from.

Minister Mulroney made a mistake cancelling Hamilton's LRT but the Premier can fix it. It's not too late to do the right thing for Hamilton.

Hamilton has done the hard work to show our support for LRT. All we're asking for is fair treatment compared to other cities.

Let the bid process finish. If the final bids come in over budget, we can scale back the project (like Mississauga just did) or ask the Federal Government to help.

Let's explore every option to get this transformative investment in economic development back on track so Hamilton can really be "open for business" and help drive Ontario's forward.

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