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Editorial — When, Minister?

December 14, 2017   ·   0 Comments

Yesterday (Wednesday) was an anniversary for some people in Caledon, especially those impacted by the GTA West Corridor.
Dec. 13, 2016, Transportation Minister Steven Del Duca was in town to address the membership of the Dufferin-Caledon Provincial Liberal Association, and he told the representative of the Citizen who was covering the event that he expected there would be an update on the status of the Corridor in the “relatively near future.”
Fast forward about 50 weeks to comments Del Duca made in response to the recent appearance of Progressive Conservative Leader Patrick Brown in Caledon, when he addressed his own party faithful. One of the pledges Brown made was that a PC government, if elected, will complete the environmental assessment (EA) on the Corridor. In response to that, Del Duca said he couldn’t give a definite timeline, but he indicated some word will be coming in the “relatively near future.”
Sound familiar?
We are not unrealistic people. We know that the actions of government takes time, often more than enough time to try the patience of those waiting for word on some issue or another. And for sure, the government would not be doing itself any favours by making hasty decisions.
On the other hand, there are many people living along or very close to the Corridor who would like to know what their future holds. Will their homes and farms and businesses be impacted by a 400-series highway running very close to, if not through, their front doors?
And in the case of Caledon, we have a municipality trying to make crucial land-use planning decisions with this major question mark traversing the town.
Minister, people want to hear something a bit more definite than references to the “relatively near future.”
Moreover, they’re entitled to it.

         

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