Toronto MP Olivia Chow says it’s time for the federal government to start investing in municipal transit problems such as the Gardiner Expressway.

The NDP’s transportation and infrastructure critic is calling for a national strategy on solving gridlock in Toronto, and transportation problems across the country. She says, under current federal regulations, the Gardiner repairs don’t even qualify for federal money because the repair is going to take a decade and projects qualifying for federal infrastructure funding have to be completed within two years.

Toronto Gridlock costs the Canadian economy six billion dollars a year.

Chow says the Canadian Federation of Municipalities and mayors across the country are calling for a national strategy to close what she says is a $13.5-billion funding gap.