Wanted: Funding Source for Transit Investment in Canada’s Largest City

According to Ontario’s Premier, Ontarians will know by next spring how the provincial government wants to pay for the public transit expansion that is needed to make a dent in the GTA’s traffic gridlock. On Wednesday, the Premier announced the appointment of an expert panel to examine the controversial, but crucial, funding options identified by Metrolinx, the province’s transit authority.

“Releasing the government’s transit-funding plan in the spring could mean the measures will be included in a March budget” writes Rob Ferguson, “requiring support from the Progressive Conservatives or New Democrats to avoid an election.”

“But both parties,” he continues, “have rejected tax increases to pay for transit expansion, saying Ontarians are hard-pressed to afford another hit in the pocketbook.”