How do you spend $1 billion on transit infrastructure in Hamilton?

A new task force has been created to answer exactly that question.

In the wake of the December cancellation of the Hamilton LRT project, Transportation Minister Caroline Mulroney announced that she would create a task force to study alternative uses for the money promised to the city for the cancelled project. The members of that task force were announced on January 23.

"The Hamilton Transportation Task Force will play a vital role in helping our government deliver $1 billion in transportation infrastructure investments in the City of Hamilton," said Mulroney. "People in Hamilton deserve transportation investments that are realistic and affordable. I will work with the Task Force and the City of Hamilton to determine which projects best fit Hamilton's transportation needs."

The task force is composed of four representatives from the Hamilton region and one from the City of Hamilton. Its members are:

• Tony Valeri (Chair) – Vice President, Corporate Affairs at ArcelorMittal Dofasco, former federal Minister of Transport and former Member of Parliament.
• Richard J. Brennan – Award-winning journalist who reported on politics including Queen's Park and Parliament Hill for most of his 40-plus-year career.
• Anthony V. Primerano – Director of Government Relations for the Labourers International Union of North America.
• Saiedeh Razavi – Director of the McMaster Institute for Transportation and Logistics (MITL), Associate Professor at the Department of Civil Engineering, and the Chair in Heavy Construction at McMaster University.
• Janette Smith – City Manager at the City of Hamilton and former Commissioner of Public Works and Commissioner of Health Services at the Region of Peel.

"I look forward to getting down to work on the possibilities for mass transit and transportation infrastructure more generally in our great city," said Valeri. "I am committed to stewarding a process that will objectively identify the best and most realistic options for Hamilton."

The group will report back to the minister by the end of February with its initial recommendations.