Canada grants $1 billion for Toronto transit

Canadian Prime Minister Paul Martin announced $1 billion in transit funding for the Toronto Transit Commission on Tuesday. The funding includes $350 million in federal dollars over the next five years to modernize and improve the city's subway stations, buy subway cars and purchase hybrid and environmentally "green" buses, Martin said. The federal, provincial and municipal governments will each cover one-third of the funding. Critics have said the the system needs $3.8 billion over 10 years for its state-of-good-repair budget and another $3.5 billion over 10 years if it is to expand the subway, reported the Canadian Press.