Mr. Speaker, a high speed rail service to Canada's largest airport in Toronto from the downtown union station is long overdue, but the provincial and federal governments must not ignore the real concerns of the city of Toronto and the residents in my riding.
The trains should be electric and not diesel, so they are clean and green. Local residents, store owners in the Liberty Village, the Niagara neighbourhood, Queen and King Street West should not see their neighbourhood wrecked by an eight metre high bridge over the rail corridor.
There is no reason to sacrifice Toronto's vibrant, creative and historic communities since the city of Toronto has a plan that would accommodate the new rail lines and blend well with the existing landscape.
We have seen what happened with the Gardiner Expressway. Let us not make the same mistake. I urge the federal Minister of Transport to direct Metrolinx to work with the community and the city of Toronto to resolve this conflict.