Shortly after announcing two notable additions to the long list of delays hindering work on transportation projects around Toronto, Metrolinx CEO Phil Verster is reportedly stepping down.
Confidential sources shared the news in a Star exclusive on Monday, which was confirmed in a press release from the Province that same day stating that Michael Lindsay — up until now the President and Chief Executive Officer of Infrastructure Ontario — will be officially taking over the role.
It is a change that residents have long been demanding, with Verster serving as the overpaid executive face of what many see as a failing government agency for the last seven years now.
Won’t answer questions about Eglinton crosstown. Friends who work there have literally nothing to do. Way to earn that bonus, jackass
— Steve Degay (@stevedegay) January 17, 2023
The still-unfinished, very over-budget and years past-due Crosstown Eglinton LRT has been seen as the transit authority’s most laughable and infuriating snafu among many, with construction having inconvenienced constituents for more than 13 years now while the project seems to have taken two steps back for every step forward.
Then there is all of the litigation regarding that line and others, ravine clearcutting despite local pushback, perceived lack of transparency and accountability, and accusations of general mismanagement that Metrolinx and, thus, Verster, have faced in recent years.
One city councillor summed up public sentiment well in writing that “Metrolinx’s delays have impacted local residents, shuttered small businesses, wasted tax dollars & left us all without the transit we need to tackle congestion & get to work or school on time.”
The statement came mid-October, when multiple other Metrolinx executives were ousted, leading to some of the strongest calls yet for Verster’s departure.
Unacceptable. At what point do we start to penalize them?
— Local27Lou Tool Review (@Local27louR) December 10, 2022
Writing of his appointment of Lindsay to the job today, Premier Doug Ford wrote that under his leadership, the new CEO’s top priority will be “opening the Crosstown Eglinton LRT as soon as it is safe to do so,” which he will start on in just a matter of days as he begins transitioning into his duties on December 9.
Lindsay will officially take over for Verster “as early as” December 16.
Amid criticisms of what the former head failed to do to earn his nearly $1-million annual salary are new revelations that he was receiving perks like a $12k-per-year vehicle stipend despite not having a car.
