Wynne asks Harper to end ‘confrontation’ between Ottawa and Ontario

ADRIAN MORROW and Bill Curry

Toronto and Ottawa — The Globe and Mail

Kathleen Wynne is asking Stephen Harper to bury the hatchet. In a letter to the Prime Minister Thursday, the Ontario Premier called on Mr. Harper to meet with her, saying they should end the “confrontation” that has characterized their relationship.

The Premier and several of her ministers also sent several detailed letters to Ottawa Thursday outlining the specific projects Ontario would like the federal government to help fund through the federal Building Canada infrastructure program.

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Ontario’s wish list includes six highway expansion projects, five projects to strengthen Ontario dams in the event of a natural disaster, a project to reduce waste going into the Ottawa River and improvements to GO transit.

More specific public transportation requests will be sent early in 2015 after the province has finalized its consultations with municipalities.

One aspect of Ontario’s request that could meet with resistance from Ottawa and other provinces is a request for a large amount of funding under Building Canada’s “National Infrastructure Component.”

The Building Canada Fund is worth $14-billion over 10 years, with $10-billion divided amongst the provinces and $4-billion set aside for “projects of national significance.”

Ontario argues that Ottawa should devote $1-billion from that national fund to match Ontario’s $1-billion contribution to develop the Ring of Fire mining project in Northern Ontario. It also wants the federal government’s $660-million pledge toward the Scarborough subway project to come from the national fund, not Ontario’s provincial share.

The Ontario Premier last met with the Prime Minister over a year ago. During last spring’s election campaign, she made political hay by publicly accusing Mr. Harper of “smirking” in that closed-door sit-down when she presented him with Ontario’s demand for a better public pension plan.

Since then, Mr. Harper has refused to meet with her.

When she asked for a sit-down this fall, Mr. Harper instead asked her to have her cabinet ministers deal with his. On Thursday, Ms. Wynne complied with this request. Six of her ministers sent letters to their federal counterparts, outlining provincial demands on everything from help building transit to bigger equalization payments.

She also sent a letter directly to Mr. Harper, reiterating her request for a meeting.

“As vital as ministerial co-operation is, it is no substitute for leadership and collaboration at the top,” she wrote. “[One year] is too long a time between meetings of the Prime Minister and the Premier of Canada’s largest province, whose relationship should be one of collaboration, not confrontation.”

Ms. Wynne is asking Mr. Harper for a meeting earlier in the New Year, closing the letter by wishing him and his wife a happy holiday.