Moscoes Aim Is A Little Off

And when you consider what he has failed to accomplish as chair of the board it might be apt to giving him a kick in the ass rather than a slap in the face.

Transit money a 'slap in the face,' says Moscoe

Updated Tue. Nov. 14 2006 2:39 PM ET

CTV.ca News Staff

A $37 million investment for transit system security does not leave Toronto with enough money, city officials said Tuesday.

The federal government earmarked the money to boost security in Canada's six largest public transit systems. Of that, $11 million will go to GO Transit and Toronto's Union Station to beef-up security.

The Toronto Transit Commission will only get $1.5 million. Commission chair Howard Moscoe called the money a "slap in the face to the residents of Toronto."

"Our needs are immediate, we know specifically what they are," Moscoe said Tuesday morning.

"It says that they (the federal government) care nothing about the safety of people who ride the TTC in Toronto."

The money is part of the $80 million, two-year "Transit-Secure" program the Conservative government promised in June, aimed at preventing the type of bombings that rocked Madrid, London and Mumbai.

Toronto and Montreal are getting the lion's share of the cash.

The TTC was expecting to use the money to install closed-circuit cameras on buses, trains and streetcars.

The plan, currently being implemented, would put high-resolution cameras in all transit vehicles by the end of 2007. Total cost for the security upgrade of 1750 vehicles is expected to be almost $17 million.

Cameras are part of a larger safety overhaul of TTC vehicles.

Another $2.7 million project will see protective barriers installed on buses and streetcars designed to shield drivers.

"We are extremely disappointed, we were expecting to get around $10 million," Giambrone said in an interview with CTV Newsnet's Dan Matheson.

"That $1.5 million really doesn't go much towards the $200 million that (the TTC is) going to be spending on security over the next five years."

Ottawa is calling the investment announced Tuesday a first round of federal government spending on transit system security.

Considering Vancouver's TransLink system will receive nearly $10 million in this round, said Giambrone, "we're at a loss to explain what went wrong here."

Cannon, however, is expected to make a series of announcements on the transit security issue, so Giambrone said the TTC is hoping Ottawa is "saving the best for last" and will inject more funds into the TTC in the future.