Politics over policy

The Star reports that despite their supposed commitment to encouraging mass transit use as a means of cutting pollution, the Cons refuse to commit funding to a TTC subway line largely for political reasons:

Federal funding to help extend the Spadina subway line to York University and into Vaughan is far from a sure thing, warns Finance Minister Jim Flaherty.

In his most pointed comments yet on the proposed $2 billion TTC expansion, Flaherty had some sobering news yesterday for subway riders.

"There isn't any firm money on the table," he told the Toronto Star.

While Flaherty said he has been having "constructive discussions" about the long-awaited subway extension with Ontario counterpart Greg Sorbara — including a private meeting Aug. 14 in Ottawa — a final decision is not expected until year's end.

The federal minister noted the Conservative government is balancing competing transportation priorities, including new highways...

Insiders note that partisan politics could also be at play. The extended Spadina subway line would run through ridings that are held provincially and federally by Liberals. That would likely help Premier Dalton McGuinty's provincial Liberals in their re-election bid on Oct. 4, 2007.

But it is less clear how a new subway in that part of Toronto would be politically advantageous for Harper's minority Conservatives, who could face the electorate as early as next spring.

Conservative sources point out that the federal largesse could be more fruitfully spent on other transit priorities in and around Toronto, where the federal Tories have a better chance of winning seats in the next election.

It'll be particularly egregious if the money which would be needed to complete the TTC line instead gets used on highways which only encourage additional single-vehicle traffic rather than doing anything to promote transit use. But in any event, this looks like just one more area in which the Cons are looking for an excuse to put their own political gain over any semblance of good government.

Update: Peggy Nash and Olivia Chow are on top of it.