Voters North Of Bloor/West Of Wellesly Not Impressed

Miller taking broad shot at stimulus money

By BRYN WEESE

Having lost his gamble with Ottawa for streetcars -- the city's one and only request to the federal Infrastructure Stimulus Fund -- Toronto Mayor David Miller is now using a spray gun.

During the 39-day strike, top city officials compiled a list of more than 600 projects -- mostly road, sewer and bridge repairs -- that could be expedited with federal money.

That list is reported to cost about $550 million, while Toronto's per capita share of the Infrastructure Stimulus Fund would be about $330 million.

The city also has a roughly $300-million backlog in road repairs.

But Miller's critics on council say his new approach is equally weak.

After all, the list of 600 projects isn't prioritized, which means the Conservatives will be left to decide which projects the city needs most.

"The sad part about it is we have such an infrastructure need, and the one opportunity that we do have -- when money is available -- we're blowing it," said Councillor Denzil Minnan-Wong. "It's easy money, and if there's a way to screw it up, the city has found it."

"Our officials have worked very closely with federal officials to ensure the projects are eligible, and we have an eligible list ... with the federal officials at the moment waiting for final approval," Miller said yesterday. "We hope that the federal government will be able to resolve things fairly shortly."