Transit advocates united for the It’s Our Subway! Day of Action on March 27 against Premier Doug Ford’s so-called subway upload, bringing the disastrous scheme directly to those it will hurt most: the riders.

In another unprecedented show of solidarity, ATU Local 113 members wore “Save Our Subway” and “Keep Transit Public” t-shirts on the job as hundreds canvassed over 40 TTC subway stations during morning rush hour demanding Toronto City Hall stand up for Toronto. This came as the City of Toronto received a pair of letters from Ford’s handpicked “special advisor” exposing the provincial government’s blueprints to take over our subway system and rewrite transit plans already in progress, causing more delays, cost overruns and putting the public transit system in immediate risk of privatization and disintegration.

“These letters prove what we’ve been saying all along: Doug Ford wants to privatize your public transit. All he cares about is lining the pickets of his rich friends,” ATU Local 113 President Carlos Santos told media outside of the TTC Osgoode subway station. “We’ve seen this happen in other places around the world. It’s a failure. We’ve been maintaining and operating the TTC for over 100 years. We do it best,” he added while urging the public to watch Protecting What Matters, a short film about the disastrous history of transit privatization in Toronto and other cities. 

Organizers of the It’s Our Subway! Day of Action at Osgoode Station speaking to media as transit advocates canvass 40+ Toronto subway stations. Pictured left to right: Carlos Santos, President of ATU Local 113, Joe Cressy, Toronto City Councillor for Spadina-Fort York, Jessica Bell, MPP for University—Rosedale and NDP Transit critic, Colleen Burke, President of USW 1988, Patrick Yutiga, Member of TCCriders and Student at Ryerson University, and Hana Syed, Vice President External of Scarborough Campus Students Union.
ATU Local 113 President Carlos Santos interviewed by CBC outside City Hall demanding Mayor Tory and Council stand up for Toronto and oppose Doug Ford’s subway upload scheme.

ATU Local 113 Sisters and Brothers were joined by Toronto City Councillors Joe Cressy, Mike Layton and Kristyn Wong-Tam and NDP Transit critic Jessica Bell alongside hundreds from unions, local and provincial governments, political, labour, environmental and student groups.

ATU Local 113 members and the public concerned about their public transit system are urged to join the fight and tell Doug Ford “It’s #OurSubway!”