York leaders seek 'tools' to fund regional transit, roads

Look to province for cash in spring budget


Yorkregion.com
March 25, 2015
By Lisa Queen

After Greater Toronto Area mayors and chairpersons met with Premier Kathleen Wynne Tuesday to discuss collaborating on a number of issues, they are now looking to the upcoming provincial budget for new “revenue tools” to bankroll roads and transit, Markham Mayor Frank Scarpitti said at a York Region transportation symposium yesterday.

The public has indicated it is willing to pay taxes or fees or see the government sell off some assets if the money is earmarked for transportation funding, Scarpitti said.

“I don’t know ultimately what the provincial government is going to do, but you could almost ask the public about a number of tools and those who think about it logically recognize something has to happen,” he said.

“There has to be some new tools that help fund the advancement of the implementation of the transit plan. Because if we don’t have that, we’re not going to see it move forward.”

Congestion is worse in the Greater Toronto and Hamilton area than anywhere else in North America, Bruce McCuaig, president of Metrolinx, a government agency created to co-ordinate and integrate inter-regional transportation, said.

It is costing the region $11 billion a year in lost productivity, which could double in 30 years, he said.

As part of a panel discussion during the conference, hosted by the York chapter of the Professional Engineers Ontario at the Markham Event Centre, Scarpitti floated the idea of boosting the gas tax temporarily, while fuel costs are low, to fund transportation.

The panel, which included McCuaig, Richmond Hill Councillor Godwin Chan, KPMG partner Will Lipson and Transport Futures founder Martin Collier, also discussed other revenue options such as parking levies, road tolls, development charges, the sales tax and privatization.

While Wynne didn’t reveal what revenue options are being considered in the budget, there was a recognition the provincial government has to get on with deciding what measures it will use to fund massive transit improvements for the Greater Toronto and Hamilton area, Scarpitti said.

“She understands in order for us to have healthy, livable, prosperous communities, these investments need to be made and where I’m hopeful is her knowledge and her desire to, in fact, deliver on these things,” Scarpitti told York Region Media Group.

“I’m hopeful, but if we don’t see signs in this budget that we’re moving forward on it, I think it’s going to be a big letdown. If we don’t see something that says, ‘We’ve made a statement, we’ve started,’ (it will be disappointing). It may not be the whole package we’re looking for yet, but if we don’t see part of that tool box being opened up and part of the tools we can use, it’s going to be a big letdown. But I don’t expect that to happen.”

While Wynne, a former minister of municipal affairs and minister of transportation, is proving to be the most accessible premier Scarpitti has worked with during his 25-plus years in municipal politics, she must realize residents and businesses are extremely frustrated with the state of transportation, Scarpitti said.

“It’s really just getting on with whatever tool they (the provincial government) decide is the best way to raise the money, but, clearly, the public, we all know, has had enough. They want to see an investment in road and rapid transit,” he said.