After seven years, Phil Verster has resigned his role as CEO of Metrolinx — the provincial transportation agency behind various GTA transit infrastructure projects including the GO expansions, Ontario Line, and most notably, the long-awaited Eglinton Crosstown LRT.
On Monday, the Ontario government announced Versters' resignation and the appointment of new interim-President and Chief Executive Officer Michael Lindsay, effective as early as December 16, 2024.
Lindsay, who served as President and CEO of Infrastructure Ontario for the last five years, has been given "a clear mandate with opening Eglinton Crosstown as his top priority," says a press release from the Ontario government. In the meantime, Metrolinx will be seeking out a permanent President and CEO, and Linday's role at Infrastructure Ontario will also be filled by an interim leader in the coming days.
“With his many years of service helping to build our great province as President and Chief Executive Officer of Infrastructure Ontario, no one is better positioned to take on this role than Michael,” says Premier Doug Ford. “I have given Michael a clear mandate to open Eglinton Crosstown as soon as it is safe to do so. That is his top priority.”
While the clear mandate is an acknowledgement of the necessity to get the Eglinton Crosstown LRT — a 19-km, 25-stop midtown light rail transit connection — up and running, it is also a reflection of just how catastrophic the whole thing has been.
During his last year in command, Verster earned a stout salary of $838,097, according to the Ontario Sunshine List, the same year the Eglinton Crosstown LRT entered into its 13th year of construction. Over past decade, the project has faced massive delays and cost overruns that have left Torontonians annoyed and discouraged and created something of a headache for city officials.
Last July, it was pointed out in a tongue-and-cheek article by The Star that landing a man on the moon, the invention of the atomic bomb, and the construction of Canada's very own CN Tower and Canadian Pacific Railway, all took less time to complete that the Eglinton LRT. Over a year later, we still don't have a completion date to look forward to.
Initially penciled for completion in 2020 after breaking ground in 2011, as of December 2024, the project is almost five years overdue and is now on its third Metrolinx president. Meanwhile, cost overruns due to safety, legal, and technical issues have amounted to around an additional $1 billion.
