NDP leader wants to explain toll aversion to Tory
Andrea Horwath proposes an unusual venture into City of Toronto budgeting, saying she can suggest non-toll fixes.

thestar.com
By David Rider
Dec. 13, 2016

As Toronto council debates road tolls, Ontario’s anti-toll NDP leader wants a meeting with Mayor John Tory to hash out other options to solve the city’s revenue crisis.

Andrea Horwath made the unusual pitch to join Toronto’s budget process on Tuesday - days after joining the Conservatives in condemning the toll proposal - by releasing a letter to Tory stating she respects municipalities’ right to decide how best to raise revenues.

“However, I am concerned that an increasing dependence on flat and regressive fees - such as road tolls and transit fares - can have a disproportionate and unfair impact on struggling residents and marginalized communities,” the letter states. “I know that by working together, we can find better funding options.”

If Horwath is treading lightly, it’s because there is not unanimity within her party on tolls, seen by many as a progressive shift toward transit rather than single-vehicle commuting. The Star’s Martin Regg Cohn revealed Tuesday that NDP stalwart and former MPP Paul Ferreira has quit the party over its anti-toll stance.

Tory is expected to address Horwath’s invitation Tuesday after council votes on whether to ask the province for the authority to toll city-owned and operated Don Valley Parkway and Gardiner Expressway.

The mayor is also backing a tax on hotel and short-term accommodations and cancelling a rebate for vacant businesses as new measures, while rejecting calls for above-inflation boosts in property taxes and a return of the vehicle registration tax.

On Monday Tory brushed aside demands from Horwath and Ontario Conservative Leader Patrick Brown that Liberal Premier Kathleen Wynne refuse to pass regulations allowing Toronto tolls to proceed. He said “it’s time for some honesty” about city revenues falling far short of the booming city’s operating and capital budgets.

Tory, however, softened his messaging on making 905-belt motorists pay their “fair share”, saying “We’re in this together.”

Horwath’s letter argues Toronto’s problem stems from a 1990s decision by then-premier Mike Harris to end provincial subsidies for municipal transit operations, and says as premier she would reinstate the funding.

The Hamilton MPP says that could pump $330 million into the city budget and obviate the need for tolls.

Brown has tried to avoid picking a fight with Tory, a former Ontario PC leader, by accusing Wynne of underfunding municipalities. But Tory’s spokesperson Amanda Galbraith accused Brown of trying to “score cheap political points in the 905” without offering a plan to “fix people’s commutes” in and out of Toronto.

Under opposition fire over tolls, Wynne told the Legislature on Tuesday she won’t decide budgeting for Toronto or other municipalities.

“I believe that local community governments should have the opportunity to make the investments that they need to make and once they've had discussions with their councils, with their communities, that they should be able to move forward,” Wynne said.