Wake up Toronto and tackle transportation
Toronto and region need a huge injection of cash for transportation, starting now, Royson James writes.

thestar.com
By Royson James
Feb. 18, 2017

One does not have to be economically suicidal or carry a strain of self-destructive genes to voluntarily embrace road tolls.

Or higher property taxes.

Or a municipal income tax.

Or the establishment of a special one-time transit fund, initiated by a levy on all citizens.

In fact, Toronto’s civic needs are so great, the costs so enormous and the sources of funds so limited that this city region needs all of the above.

Make that, all of the above - and more - for the benefit of the entire urban region stretching from Waterloo to Peterborough, down to Niagara and up to Barrie. This area is Canada’s economic ticket. Toronto is the heart. The sooner we face the funding reality, the sooner we will begin to address the first of the issues threatening to choke off our success - transportation.

Everybody realizes this now. We are spread out too far. Our commute is too long and too congested. We can’t build a wall fast enough to stop the world from coming to our shores. And delays only exacerbate the problems.

To embrace tolls is to shake hands with the obvious - even if the solution is not perfect, which it isn’t. Of course, road tolls are a regressive tax. Of course, they “punish” drivers who must use a particular roadway while sparing drivers with options to avoid the toll. Of course, this is not an ideal form of public fiscal management.

Tolls have benefits and negatives. But it is no tool to sneeze at, especially when the tool box is slammed shut by our own allergy to higher taxes and failure of the provincial and federal governments to provide permanent help.

The single greatest failure of our political leaders over the last three decades is the abject dereliction of the duty to get this clear message across to constituents.

Instead of repeating this essential truth, ad nauseam, our mayors and premiers and regional chairs and too many talk show hosts and opinion leaders have peddled an insidious and corrosive untruth. The lie, prominent at budget time, says somebody else will pay for what we so obviously need; they’ll pay tomorrow; they’ll pay, without paying any more taxes.

Our political leaders don’t say it like that, of course. What they say is, “I’ll keep your taxes at the rate of inflation.” After all, even the most tax-averse citizen understands that you can’t beat inflation.

So the rate of inflation lie is a safe one. It gets our politicians elected. It keeps the electorate sedated. It steadily erodes our ability to pay for the services we need.

The very politician trumpeting inflationary property taxes is the one slipping his hand in your pocket for user fees for garbage collection and use of community centres and water and the bus ride and property sale and the kids’ soccer game on an uneven playing field you already paid for with one of several taxes.

Our politicians do this to us because we want to be deceived. As one reader responded, following my last column: “I am sure we will pay somehow down the road. But I will still vote for no toll. Regards.”

Regards, indeed.

Readers serenaded me with a barrage of alternatives to tolls, as if these were new concepts never before considered, and rejected for all kinds of reasons. Some readers had it up to their eyeballs with taxes. “No more.” Others said the city’s property taxes are too low, so raise them. A considerable constituency said the province should pay more. Some wanted the city to get an income tax because, y’know, it’s the fairest tax. And some want all of the existing gas tax revenues dedicated to transportation.

And Bernard wrote: “Now I believe a Toronto LOTTERY is a good idea, DON’T YOU?”

Well, yyyyees. How can I say no? And that’s from someone so averse to gambling that I’m uneasy with games of chance at the Ex and have never bought a lottery ticket.

Everybody, wake up, here!

The city has more than $30-plus billion worth of projects council has approved but has no funding assigned. These include transit plans that only begin to scratch the surface of the network that is needed. At the current rate - even if the $30 billion magically appears - those improvements won’t arrive before 2050.

There are enough of us in this region - and we are rich enough - to use all the tools in our fiscal toolbox and slay this fiscal dragon. That includes the CEOs and the citizens on social assistance. Together, we are not poor and destitute.

Did you know that the City of Toronto increased water rates 9 per cent per year for nine straight years starting in 2006 - without a peep from citizens. It had to be done to erase a $1.7 billion repairs backlog. Toronto Community Housing has a similar backlog. Do you think it politically palatable to increase property taxes by similar levels to fix social housing? And another 9 per cent for transit. And …

Toronto and region need a huge injection of cash for transportation, starting now. Can we get a leader to show us how - even at the risk of getting crucified at the polls? Don’t ask for road tolls and risk the province saying “no.” Demand all the tools. Again and again.

I remember being told by a preacher once that “without the shedding of blood, there’s no remission for sin.” Metaphorically, let’s bleed a little. Civic redemption would come earlier than we dream.