As a Ford government-ordered review into Metrolinx gets underway, the head of the transportation organization says frontline employees will not be the focus of the exercise.While provincial spending has been under extra scrutiny recently due to government MPP expense submissions, Ontario treasury board president Peter Bethlenfalvy ordered a review of Metrolinx as well as seven other provincial agencies including the Liquor Control Board of Ontario (LCBO), the Workplace Safety and Insurance Board (WSIB), the Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario (AGCO) and Legal Aid Ontario.“These agencies have been selected based on their reliance on government funding, financial performance, size and complexity, and workforce growth trends,” a statement issued on Aug. 5 said.“Ministries and the Treasury Board Secretariat will work to identify credible opportunities to improve operations and maintain long-term sustainability, while continuously improving services.”Related:Ontario launches reviews of large public agencies including Metrolinx, LCBOIt wasn’t immediately clear what the government was ultimately looking to achieve in terms of efficiencies and potential cuts.In 2025, the government ordered agencies to implement a hiring freeze and a 20-per-cent reduction in the use of consultants. During an unrelated news conference in Toronto on Tuesday, CityNews asked officials about the focus of the review as it related to the transportation agency and what success would look like at the end of it.Michael Lindsay, who took over as president and CEO of Metrolinx at the end of 2024 following his tenure as head of Infrastructure Ontario, said he and others have eliminated the use of approximately 1,200 consultants to save around $100 million a year. He also said they’ve stopped non-essential hiring per the 2025 directive.Related:Massive expansion of GO Transit network underway with main focus on 5 rail corridors“I’ve been working with the team at Metrolinx to make sure that we fulfill our solemn obligation to do what we do, which is broad and formidable, but to do it as efficiently as we possibly can,” Lindsay said.“(I) wouldn’t want anybody to believe that frontline positions that serve the community are in danger in any way. Indeed, the only positions that we have been hiring are those that serve the public, including 30 new customer protection officers which have just finished their training and are rolling out our network now.”Ontario Transportation Minister Prabmeet Sarkaria, who has overseen Metrolinx since being appointed to the portfolio in September 2023, said he welcomes the review. “It’s, you know, I think a normal part of business practice to conduct reviews and audits of your organization,” he said.Related:Hazel McCallion LRT construction likely won’t be done until 2027: Metrolinx CEO“We welcome that, and we think it’s a healthy part of the process and look forward to working with our colleagues to do that.”Sarkaria noted the agency has a wide range of responsibilities, adding GO Transit and UP Express facilitated 75 million trips in 2025 across a rail and bus network that serves the Greater Toronto Area and the broader Golden Horseshoe. He said the organization also has oversight of the government’s massive local and regional transit expansion plan, including the Ontario Line that has seen its overall budget triple in recent years.Founded in 2006, Metrolinx is a sprawling agency owned by the Ontario government that has operational oversight for GO Transit, UP Express and the Presto fare card system. In addition, the organization is responsible for regional transportation planning.Related:West-end Toronto residents frustrated with Metrolinx over lack of GO train noise protectionsCritics have repeatedly questioned how the agency is structured, specifically citing its large number of vice presidents and senior leaders.According to a 2025-2026 Metrolinx annual report, there were 135 executives and more than 2,302 managers to oversee more than 4,700 full-time frontline employees. In the 2023-2024 fiscal year, there were 119 executives and 1,885 managers responsible for nearly 4,900 frontline employees.All of Metrolinx’s entities brought in a combined revenue total of $777.6 million and had almost $2.057 billion in expenses throughout 2025-2026. It also received just shy of $1.275 billion in government operating subsidy. In 2024-2025, there was $770.7 million in revenue, $2.064 billion in expenses and almost $1.275 billion in government operating subsidyWith files from The Canadian Press