Premier Doug Ford confirmed media reports that he, the federal government and Honda will announce a multi-billion dollar deal to build electric vehicles in Alliston.
“I think it’s public,” he told the Ontario Good Roads Association (OGRA) annual conference on Tuesday. It may as well be, as sources have leaked the news to multiple media outlets.
"It will be the largest announcement in Canadian history," he said, comparing it to Volkswagen's $7-billion battery plant in St. Thomas (which will cost taxpayers an estimated $16.3 billion, according to the parliamentary budget officer).
"On Thursday, we'll be making an announcement with — and it's public — with Honda. It's going to be double the size of that investment," Ford said.
Ford also promised news soon on the contentious project to build a road to the Ring of Fire mining area in northern Ontario.
"We're making progress on the road to the Ring of Fire. And you’re gonna hear more news about the road to the Ring of Fire very shortly," he said.
The Trillium asked Northern Development Minister Greg Rickford about Ford’s comments on Tuesday.
“What it means is that work continues,” Rickford said. “We understand that this is a massive northern development opportunity. And it isn't just about the First Nations communities that are most proximal to the Ring of Fire. The whole north-central part of northern Ontario needs to be developed.”
Building roads leading to the remote region has been the main sticking point for decades. Rickford mentioned energy corridors and other types of legacy infrastructure that need building before the mining operations can get up and running.
The Ford government has earmarked $1 billion to develop the region and asked Ottawa to match, though that money hasn’t come through yet. Rickford also wants the federal government to drop some of the regulatory hurdles.
“We're looking for partnership from the federal government. I mean, they've been playing peekaboo. Frankly, all they've done so far is slap regulatory processes on it,” he said.
Even if the feds keep their wallets closed, Ontario could be prepared to go in alone, Rickford said.
“We've demonstrated a commitment to move forward on the foundational projects that are required for us to move into the North … We're just hopeful that the federal government will join us. It's an opportunity of a lifetime.”
And the premier teased updates about Toronto's recently uploaded highways, the Gardiner and the Don Valley Parkway.
"We have some great plans" to solve congestion on the "Don Valley Parking lot," as Ford referred to it, drawing some chuckles from the municipal crowd. The two highways should've been uploaded decades ago, he said.
"But we're going to turn a lemon into lemonade and we have some really creative ideas," the premier said.
After his speech, Ford took part in a fireside chat with OGRA Executive Director Scott Butler, who asked whether his plans to spend billions on new roads are "prudent" when municipalities are almost $42 billion behind on maintaining existing transportation infrastructure.
Ford talked up his plans to build Highway 413 and Bradford Bypass.
"Granted, but those aren't municipal roads. And we're going to talk about municipal roads a little bit," Butler said, in what was the biggest applause line of any party leader's OGRA speech.
"I was not looking for applause, people," he said.
Butler pressed Ford on his government's "whiplash" of flip-flops, asking if constantly updating legislation might be hurting municipalities' ability to build homes and infrastructure.
"I wouldn’t say so. If you're going the wrong direction, a lot of politicians dig their heels in and just keep going, even though if it's wrong, people don't agree," he said before launching into a nearly five-minute rant about Ontario's economy pre- and post-PC government.
Ford also played the hits, talking up his Lean Six Sigma bona fides and waste in municipal governments.
Asked if municipalities should be able to take on debt, as his government has, Ford was a strong no.
"The former mayor, John Tory, said: 'Don't ever, ever give us the opportunity to get debt. Some governments will be responsible, some won't,'" he said.
He bragged about saving Toronto $1 billion during his time as a councillor with his late brother, the former mayor Rob Ford — a claim that was thoroughly debunked at the time.
