Why did a key report on the mayor’s transit plan include inflated numbers?

Guest: Ben Spurr, Transportation Reporter Host: Jennifer Pagliaro, City Hall Reporter

A freedom of information request filed by the Star’s Ben Spurr revealed emails that show staff inadvertently included projections in an attachment in a report in January 2021 that overstated the number of riders, residents and jobs Tory’s $1.46-billion SmartTrack program would serve. Spurr joins Jennifer Pagliaro to discuss his recent story: A report on the mayor’s transit plan mistakenly included inflated numbers. City staff knew but failed to fix them before council voted

Don Peat, a spokesperson for the mayor, said Tory and his office had no knowledge of staff’s handling of the report until contacted about it by the Star. The mayor and council “rely on the expert advice of city staff on this and countless other matters and we are confident they approach this with the utmost professionalism and commitment to the city of Toronto,” he said.