Thursday, March 08, 2007
A Punch In The Nose For Gridlock
Posted by: Glen Stone
Nearly a BILLION dollars. That's how much the federal government is investing in public transit in the Toronto region.
The Board of Trade and others have been saying for years that Ottawa must step up to the plate with investments of this size, and we issued a media release that praised all governments involved.
However ...
One-time, project-driven funding - no matter how big - is not going to do the trick when it comes to solving the traffic congestion problem. That's going to require an extra billion dollars EVERY YEAR, and strategic planning at both the national and provincial level to make sure that money is spent in the smartest way (we talk about this stuff in more detail in our provincial and federal budget submissions).
Sure, it's hard to look a gift horse in the mouth, particularly when the gift horse is the size of an elephant. But the Board of Trade's job is to stand up for the best interests of Toronto's business community, even when that might get some politicians or others mad at us.
So, thanks very much for the billion dollars! Now, let's talk about a real, strategic, permanent solution ...
Glen Stone is Public Affairs Manager for the Toronto Board of Trade
Nearly a BILLION dollars. That's how much the federal government is investing in public transit in the Toronto region.
The Board of Trade and others have been saying for years that Ottawa must step up to the plate with investments of this size, and we issued a media release that praised all governments involved.
However ...
One-time, project-driven funding - no matter how big - is not going to do the trick when it comes to solving the traffic congestion problem. That's going to require an extra billion dollars EVERY YEAR, and strategic planning at both the national and provincial level to make sure that money is spent in the smartest way (we talk about this stuff in more detail in our provincial and federal budget submissions).
Sure, it's hard to look a gift horse in the mouth, particularly when the gift horse is the size of an elephant. But the Board of Trade's job is to stand up for the best interests of Toronto's business community, even when that might get some politicians or others mad at us.
So, thanks very much for the billion dollars! Now, let's talk about a real, strategic, permanent solution ...
Glen Stone is Public Affairs Manager for the Toronto Board of Trade
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