CANADA: The Ontario government is holding talks with engineering group SNC Lavalin to revive plans for a rail link between Toronto's Union Station and Pearson international airport. The company won a concession to build and operate the project five years ago (RG 7.03 p417).

But progress stalled because of a lack of consensus on route and station options, the lack of an environmental analysis and community opposition to an express service aimed primarily at airline passengers, which would make just one intermediate stop. The province reportedly wants to complete the deal during the autumn.

The federal government is to contribute C$6·2bn towards the Ontario province's programme of infrastructure improvements over the next seven years (RG 5.08 p277). A significant proportion of this funding will be spent on the 8·7 km metro extension to York University and Vaughan. A framework agreement has still to be signed by the two sides before work can commence.