Closer Look - Insightful, credible, unfiltered conversations that matter
In cities and towns across Ontario — and at Queen’s Park and Parliament Hill — our journalists work for you. Their mission is to dig for answers and tell you what they find. This new podcast from Village Media — ‘Closer Look’ — is all about the stories we tell. Every weeknight, hosts Michael Friscolanti and Scott Sexsmith go beyond the headlines with insightful, in-depth conversations featuring our reporters and editors, leading experts, key stakeholders and big newsmakers.
Closer Look - Insightful, credible, unfiltered conversations that matter
Ford has faith Carney will steer his way on 401 tunnel
Ontario Premier Doug Ford says he has faith that Prime Minister Mark Carney will back his dream of a massive tunnel underneath Highway 401.
Carney recently revealed the first five projects in the national interest that will be fast-tracked, which is intended to strengthen the country's economy in the face of U.S. tariffs.
Ford’s highway tunnel was not on the initial list, but he told reporters this week he’s confident the PM will eventually get on board.
"I just believe he will," Ford said. "Considering it's the busiest highway in North America, and 50 per cent of the GDP comes through Toronto, and [gridlock is] costing us $58 billion of lost productivity, I think it's pretty national."
Village Media's new Closer Look podcast dug a little deeper into Ford’s tunnel vision during a recent episode with guests Jessica Smith Cross, editor-in-chief of The Trillium, and Professor Matti Siemiatycki, director of the Infrastructure Institute at the University of Toronto.
“I think we can start from the basic premise that this is likely build-able, that you likely could build a tunnel of this length in this location,” Siemiatycki told the podcast. “The question isn't just: ‘Can we build it?’ The question is: ‘Should we? Does this actually solve the congestion problem? How much does it cost? And are there better alternatives that we could address this issue at a lower cost?”
You can watch the full episode HERE.
Hosted by Village Media’s Michael Friscolanti and Scott Sexsmith, and produced by Derek Turner, Closer Look is a new daily podcast that goes way beyond the headlines with insightful, in-depth conversations featuring our reporters and editors, leading experts, key stakeholders and big newsmakers.
Fresh episodes drop every Monday to Friday at 7 p.m. right in your local news feed — and on the show’s dedicated website: closerlookpodcast.ca. Of course, you can also find us wherever you get your favourite podcasts.
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Have something to say? Please reach out. Our email address is closerlook@villagemedia.ca.
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