All Statements of Support
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Stefan Dolgert says,
Hamilton is an amazing city to live in, but it would be vastly improved by LRT. Building the LRT is also the democratic will of the people of Hamilton, expressed manifestly many times over these last few years, and by reneging on its prior promises the Province has acted unjustly and undemocratically.
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Angela Pugliese says,
The Ministry of Transportation Caroline Mulroney cancelled The Hamilton LRT Project, without warning didn't even make the official announcement left it up to someone else
the figures giving by the Ministry of transportation were so outrageous and unrealistic.
The Ministry announced that a Task Force would be assigned, and they would make the decision no consideration for City Council or the City, who will be on this task force no word the Province will make that decision
The previous Ministry of transportation Jeff Yurek supported the project and then was shuffled.
Investors that invested into this project came to Hamilton on a Promise that this LRT would be built now there could be potential lost of revenue
There is so many benefits to this LRT, infrastructure that would have been done, cleaning the downtown core area, getting to our destination in a fast safe manner, and as well seamless, I lived on this transit system that is why I believe on how this would be so beneficial to our City
In three months the City was to hear from the bidders we should have at least had this opportunity
the betrayal that the Province has left Hamilton
Please sign this petition in order for our government to understand that the LRT is important to our City of Hamilton
We are asking for the Premier of Ontario Ford, to step in and fix this and allow this project to continue. This is on Change.org and it will continue to stay on until Premier Ford comes to the table on this -
Joseph Battaglia says,
The actions of the Ford government as they relate to the funding of the LRT project are a complete betrayal to the long term sustainable growth of this incredible city. We demand greater accountability from this provincial government, and to have the project canceled without any input from local stakeholders is completely unfair to the residents of Hamilton, the majority of which support this project.
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Joe McLaughlin says,
The LRT would greatly benefit Hamilton. It would increase transit ridership, decrease the number of cars on the road, decrease emissions that are harmful to the environment and help Hamilton move forward as a prosperous city.
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Sandy Gaidola says,
We need the LRT in Hamilton. Our city needs major developmental change. Something to look forward to a future here. More jobs created and to liven the city with the most latest technology. Not to mention to build a better transit system.
Please consider our city to go forward with this. -
Nick Curto says,
Please get our LRT plan back on track. The loss of the LRT is detrimental to the future of the city's downtown core and places any future development in the downtown rejuvenation into limbo. Also, the jobs that the LRT would have created for LIUNA members alone, who the premiere assured would be working, place the future of many families at risk. How can the province be "open for business" when plans like this are cancelled at the last hour. It makes one believe that only cities within the province who we're supportive of the PC government are the ones who benefit from the open policy of the province.
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Stephanie McLarty says,
I strongly encourage getting the Hamilton LRT project back online.
As a Hamilton resident and local business owner, I believe we need LRT for the future livability of our city. With the projected inflow of residents in the coming years, we cannot expect them to all drive to get around. That would create massive gridlock. We are willing to endure shortterm pain for the longterm gain.
Environmentally, we need low carbon solutions like the LRT to greatly reduce our emissions. As a mom, I am greatly concerned for the future that my daughter and her generation will inherit. It's time we take massive and urgent action to ensure they have a future. The LRT is part of that action.
Financially there are always ways to make it work when there is a will. My company is pledging to go carbon neutral within 3 years simply because it's the right thing to do. We will figure out the way.
We have the will, folks. Let's find the way.
Stephanie McLarty
CEO
REfficient -
Amina Daimee says,
LRT is a major reason behind many of the investments that individuals and businesses have put their money and faith into Hamilton. It is not a coincidence that the city's boom in housing and local shops, restaurants, cafes, etc., started in 2014. Or at least really took off since 2014. The same year LRT was announced for Hamilton. The cancellation is going to make our economy go DOWN! You, Ford government have cancelled this project with such a lack of care of how it would affect our future in terms of outside investments, economy growth, JOBS, environmental targets, and the list goes on. There is SO much harm done here and the sense is Doug Ford does not care because it was not his idea; it is not his city. The perspective is that the money pulled from here is a huge F you to the opposition- Ms. Horvath, and that you seem to only be finding things that are YOUR ideas. I wouldnt be surprised if you pulled the money here to put into your Ontario Line, which is going to cost $10.9 Billion...
Hamilton is being left behind in metropolitan progression. We only have Ford goverment to thank.
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Cora Muis says,
Hamilton needs LRT. Stop breaking promises.
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Andrew Hibma says,
As a business operator along the proposed LRT corridor we chose our location based on the LRT plan and were eagerly a anticipating how LRT would better connect our city. I urge the provincial government to uphold their commitment to LRT in Hamilton so that Hamilton's transportation system can move into the 21st century and away from packed buses on terrible road surfaces.
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Joe accardi says,
Hamilton is one of the fastest growing cities in the country next 5-10 years. We need our fair share of support.
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Rob Italiano says,
Hamilton Street Railway is a NAME ONLY! LET'S make it a REALITY again! The people of Hamilton DESPERATELY NEED it! It is GROWING RAPIDLY DAILY! Let's not wait until gridlock is gotten worse to the point of NO RETURN!
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Jen Jones says,
Please return funding for LRT in Hamilton. We need the transportation improvement to combat traffic congestion, the positive environmental impact of light rail transit vs the exhaust-spewing diesel busses we have currently which foul our air and create significant noise pollution, and to draw businesses to invest in higher density housing and new business along the rail line. As a city, we have already displaced persons from their homes and businesses and bought up properties along the proposed/promised rail line, which now sit boarded up and vacant which will draw graffiti and crime and present an increased fire hazard, as abandoned properties do. Hamilton needs financial and physical growth desperately, especially via densification downtown vs urban sprawl into farmlands. The LRT would assist this greatly. Hamilton needs to grow into the future, not stay in the past. The LRT linking to McMaster University will help students’ housing spread out further into the city vs concentrating it all in the West End which has created some issues for local homeowners. Please reconsider this project for our city.
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Simon Woodside says,
I am a founder of MedStack, a fifteen person software firm that works at CoMotion on King. We need the LRT for our young staff who don’t buy cars.
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Naomi Kane says,
This new information just makes my blood boil. Build transit in all cities yesterday. The ability to get around a city is imperative to its growth and sustainability. Citizens cannot control the size of these cities they deserve a way to get around them. Jobs, economic prosperity etc all require the ability for employees to get to work. Get this thing built!
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Carol Shields says,
Please reinstate the LRT project for Hamilton. If the city and province want to remain relevant, take real action on climate change, and provide public transit that is a sensible and convenient alternative to increased vehicular congestion going forward, we've got to act now.
I understand that we must be diligent in undertaking the immense cost of such a project, but diligence requires accuracy. Accountability to taxpayers requires accuracy. Decision-making with public money must be based on accurate data. Conflating costs inaccurately is irresponsible. Admitting to that conflation without publicly correcting the record and re-examining the decision is reprehensible. I expect better from my elected officials.
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George OVEREND says,
Dear Friends
While I live on the mountain, i feel that the LRT project is very important for the whole city. Please revisit your plans to deny our city of such an incredible opportunity. It will truly benefit our whole region in many many ways.
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PHYLLIS ALFANO says,
Cancelling the LRT project proves that our politicians are small-minded aad anti progressive when it involves Hamilton.
Please reconsider!
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Ian Downer says,
I look at the current LRT proposal as the beginning of a revitalization of the HSR system, both below and above the escarpment. I have been fortunate enough to travel to many European cities where rail system are an integral part of there transit systems.
The government is helping to fund these systems in other municipalities so reinstate our funding so we can move forward. -
Aaron Neal says,
This will grow Hamilton's economy and increase opportunities for our city. It will never be cheaper than today and we have voted for this time and time again because we are ready for this, we need to plan for the future of Hamilton transit. The LRT is the best option. Transit experts agree, businesses agree, and the people of this city agree.
Mr. Ford Recommit to LRT, have a legacy in this city of building, not cutting.
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Glen Doe says,
The LRT is a service to improve the livability of Hamilton and is also necessary to alter the automobile bias the city has focussed on for so many years. LRT helps to expand transportation options and helps to densify the city along this route. It also is a tool to improve our environmental footprint. Hey, but you know all of this!
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Matthew Kalinauskas says,
Please reconsider the cancellation of the Hamilton LRT. This cancellation makes no sense, hurts the people of Hamilton, and chalks up to yet one more broken promise by this government.
Please undo this and help your citizens and taxpayers rebuild this city for the future.
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Jennifer Lenoir says,
I want to start first by saying that I am not a regular transit user. I drive and so the construction of the LRT will inconvenience me. I say this because quite often those who are against the LRT are like me, they'll never use it so why deal with the traffic? However I have children and I want them to have easy access around the city, just like I did growing up in Europe. One of the reasons we bought the house that we did was looking forward to the constructed LRT and how helpful that would be when our kids hit their teens. Hamilton has spoken, we have said that our transit system isn't adequate as it is, it certainly isn't adequate for our future. For practical purposes alone our city needs this. But our need is even greater than the simple practical day to day operation of this city. We're watching Australia burn right now, we have so little time left to reduce climate change. To wait on other green house gas producers to do something significant before we bother is a moral failing. How can we look our kids in the eye and tell them we just don't care?
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Jonathan Heemskerk says,
A promise is a promise. The Government of Ontario promised to build a LRT system in Hamilton. They current government of Ontario said they would uphold that promise after it was elected. You and your government need to stand by your words.
It seems obvious from various news articles that you are FUDGING your numbers to come up with $5.5 billion dollars compared to the original $1 billion. From this article , it says you are including $2 Billion dollars of ongoing operating costs that were not in the scope of the $1 Billion. You need to compare like for like.
STOP LYING to us constituents.
And STOP treating anyone who isn't in the GTA as if they don't matter. Mississauga and Toronto still get THEIR transit systems - why are they more important than Hamilton? Because they voted PC?
If you were a business, I would never, ever, deal with you again. But as the government, we have no choice to go to someone else without uprooting our entire lives. That is why we need to have some kind of trust in the officials we elect. You are severely breaking that trust.
We had a municipal election here in Hamilton that centered on this very issue. There was a VERY clear message in those results, with Mayor Fred Eisenberger and a majority of Pro-LRT councilors being elected. Hamilton WANTS the LRT.
Hundreds of millions of dollars have been spent. People have been forced to leave their homes to make way. Infrastructure that sorely needs upgrading was going to be looked after. All that down the drain.
Not to mention the hundreds of millions of other investment that is happening BECAUSE of the LRT. Condos are being built, houses being bought, businesses starting up, all in anticipation of the LRT line. All of that is in jeopardy now. What if all those construction sites shut down? Is that good for Hamilton or for Ontario?
I put my money where my mouth is. I bought my house in 2018 in a location that would be well served by the LRT. It was something we were looking forward to having, to being able to be better connected to the rest of our city. Hamilton was a city on the move, with good things happening and investing in its future. I'm proud to live here now to try to help build that future but YOU and your government are killing it,
This short-sighted decision with accomplish nothing. What else can move people as effectively as a dedicated transit system? More buses with just burn more fossil fuels, take up more space in traffic, and continue to lag in ridership because nobody WANTS to take a bus. Just because you're a Conservative government doesn't mean you have to be willfully ignorant about the benefits of transit, greenhouse gas reduction, and long-term investments in infrastructure.
Lastly. To minister Mulroney - To call a press conference, and then run away when people actually showed up? To try to move locations, to try to prevent city councilors from attending to look out for our best interests. Going so far as to call the police?! You need to face the results of your decisions. You need to answer tough questions people have for you. That is the essence of being an elected official. I have no other word for you but COWARD.
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Gloria Geller says,
It is self-evident that the future is in public transit. This setback only means that the cost when the LRT in Hamilton is finally built, will be that much higher. Please reconsider this unfortunate decision and proceed with the funding of this very important contribution to the future of a growing Hamilton and region.
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Matt Thomson says,
As the population of this city increases with more people commuting to work, public transit needs to be a viable option that matches rising density. Having an LRT would be setting a foundation for manageable growth in the future, as well as limiting the impact of urban sprawl. LRT is only the first step towards a more liveable city, and needs to be done.
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Eileen White says,
I have no idea why Doug Ford would push regressive policies that severely limit our city,s growth, and increases pollution that Hamilton has been struggling for decades to reduce. Meanwhile Progressive policies of our council and Mayor will win the day. L.R.T. will win and Ford will fail.
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Steve McKay says,
It is irresponsible to pull away from a project that is so inextricably linked to the City of Hamilton's plans for the economy, tax base, lifestyle and people-moving.
What bothers me most is that there have been countless opportunities to review the cost of the LRT plan for Hamilton. At a certain point you need to commit to a project so that the BUSINESS community can respond.
Businesses love predictability. They do not like it when their economic models are broken by disruptive provincial policies.
This is an excellent example how to kill business interests in a city.
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Helen Wills says,
Premier Ford -
Something has to be done regarding Hamilton's LRT Cancellation. This is based on Caroline Mulrony's Bad Math.. I suggest you have this revisited and corrected.. and put someone on the project who has better math skills.
When you go through the calculations line-by-line, the report only comes up with a total of $3.65 billion in overall 30-year provincial costs, with no accounting for where the rest of the cost comes from.That $3.65 billion in overall 30-year costs matches the approved Metrolinx budget of $3.75 billion over 30 years, according to an internal Metrolinx document just obtained by the Toronto Star, Hamilton Spectator and Raise the Hammer.
It is also entirely in line with the final 30-year cost the Province just approved for the Hurontario LRT in Mississauga/Brampton. (Their line is 22% longer than Hamilton's and costs 22% more.)
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Edgardo Moreno says,
I would like to express my support for the LRT in Hamilton. In my household we have always supported this project and its many benefits to our communities. Please reconsider your decision.
thank you
Edgardo Moreno
Vote for this statement
