Statement by Ryan Crawford

To whom it may concern,

It was with much joy, but not surprise that the Federal government has finally had to step up and announce that they will match, dollar for dollar, a capital funding committment that of the province's funding of the LRT in Hamilton. Given the pandemic we're in now, an infrastructure project such as this is the perfect "shovel ready" initiative that may very well set Hamilton on a trajectory to become a much more prosperous, safe, and happy city.

Even before this full funding committment, the province, liuna, and the various public/private partnerships available were still very good options for moving this project forward which would have resulted in just as beneficial returns for the city.

I urge any council member who is anything but fully supportive of the LRT to carefully consider how they spend their time and energy in the coming months because you will be fighting against likely one of the greatest opportunities that has ever availed Hamilton. Dithering and distracting has only resulted in causing the project to increase in cost, and many taxpayers, including myself are watching what members do very carefully. Council has already wasted time, money, and face on the various "bids" (aka gambles) such as trying to attract the likes of Amazon, sporting events, and gosh knows what else, only to have gotten nothing in return. LRT is not a gamble. It's a few years of growing pain from construction.

Just as a reminder, this free capital investment in Hamilton is not only to build a multipurpose, multimodal, accessible, and spacious rail system, but is also free water, sewer, electrical, and roadworks revitalizations that the city would absolutely have to budget for in the coming years if we do not vote in favor of a memorandum of understanding that agrees with building the LRT.

Best,
Ryan

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