Cambridge city councillor wants region to reimburse taxpayers for LRT

A councillor from Cambridge believes his constituents have been overcharged for regional transit. CTV’s Heather Senoran explains why.

Cambridge City Councillor Adam Cooper says Cambridge taxpayers deserve to be reimbursed because ION Light Rail Transit (LRT) does not yet serve the community.

The Region of Waterloo launched the LRT in Kitchener and Waterloo in June 2019 with a promise that eventually Cambridge would be included.

Although Waterloo Region approved extending the LRT to Cambridge during a meeting on Nov. 19, the work is still in the planning stages, including heritage assessments, utility relocations, environmental field work and creating a detailed design.

“It was a mistake that was made back in 2019, and it needs to be corrected before it goes any further,” Councillor Cooper told CTV News on Wednesday, after he released an open letter to media outlets to bring attention to his concerns.

He believes Cambridge taxpayers have been treated unfairly after paying into the system for six years.

“Townships don’t get the service. They don’t pay. We haven’t got the service, but we are paying,” Cooper said. “We need to not be paying in the future for service that we don’t have. Until there’s tracks running through Cambridge, we should not be paying.”

Cooper claimed Cambridge taxpayers have been forking up millions of dollars for the transit option.

Former Cambridge Mayor and current Regional Councillor Doug Craig said he’s been waiting for official numbers from the region about how much Cambridge taxpayers have been paying for the LRT. He put in the request at a regional budget committee meeting Wednesday morning.

“The inquiries have gone in,” Craig said. “The community has certainly spoken about this and wants to know what the numbers are. And once we get that information, then we can make decisions on whether we should proceed continually making Cambridge pay or wait until Cambridge actually gets the LRT.”

Craig said regional staff are expected to come back to council with those figures by the next budget meeting in two weeks.

Cooper wants to see residents reimbursed by the region.

“An easy [reimbursement option] would be a reduction in a tax levy because, 51 per cent of Cambridge taxpayers’ money goes to the region. And maybe for a few years we can get some relief on that,” Cooper said.

He said in this economy, residents shouldn’t be paying more than they need to.

“We’re living in a cost-of-living crisis. High rent prices, high mortgage prices, high food prices, stagnant wages,” Cooper said.

Cooper said another city councillor is expected to come to council with a motion on this soon.

CTV News reached out to Mayor Jan Liggett’s office for comment, but she was not available.

CTV News also reached out to the Region of Waterloo. A spokesperson did not provide a direct answer about taxpayers in Cambridge but provided a statement about the LRT in Cambridge.

“Regional Council has recently approved moving forward with Stage 2 LRT to Cambridge, and updates and dialogue will continue at Regional Council and in the community as the project progresses,” a spokesperson for the region said.