Waterfront Toronto Chair Shields Decision to Hide 40 percent Budget Overrun

This article was last updated on April 16, 2022

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The chair of Waterfront Toronto, Mark Wilson, has mentioned in a recent statement that Queens Quay project, which was 40 per cent over budget, was “well-managed” and stressed that the agency’s decision to delay public display of details regarding the cost overruns for more than a year saved money. Mr. Wilson shielded the $128-million price tag, which was increased from original $93-million, to upgrade the 1.7-kilometre section of street along the harbour, describing it as “Toronto’s face to the world.”

After presenting details about the overruns to the board on Wednesday, Mr. Wilson stated that “this is not a runaway project. This is a project that’s been very carefully, professionally well-managed.” This was the first meeting attended by new deputy Mayor, Denzil Minnan-Wong, who has remained a popular critic of the agency. Minnan-Wong was appointed to the board by Mayor John Tory earlier this month.

In his response to the report, Mr. Tory criticized the cost overruns and the delay in releasing them. He mentioned in a press statement that he was concerned about “the lack of transparency and timeliness in reporting these costs.” In addition to that, Mr. Wilson and other members of the board at the meeting praised the work done by the staff to keep the cost overruns from going higher. He pointed out that delaying the revelation of the extent of the extra costs for more than a year allowed the agency to reach settlements with contractors that were more than $4-million less than it anticipated.