In Ford’s Ontario, A Future of More Roads, More Cars, More Urban Sprawl and More Climate Emergencies

Never Mind Banning Road Tolls. Provide More Funding For Public Transit

A Commentary by Niagara At Large reporter/publisher Doug Draper, followed by a News Release from Ontario’s Ford Government

Posted February 15^th, 2024 on Niagara At Large

Here goes Ontario’s Premier again – clearly a guy with his head stuck in the 1950s – making decisions that pave the way for more car, more roads and more developing sprawling into the countryside at whatever cost to everyone and everything else.

Acting like a Santa Clause showing up a couple of months too late for Christmas, Premier Doug Ford began the morning of February 15^th with a big smile as he announced that his government is moving to ban road tolls and freeze driver’s licence fees.

On the surface this may look like a great gift to everyone who owns and drives cars and trucks, if no all of us who are fortunate enough to live in Ontario, and Ford may very well be hoping that few, if any of us look below the surface of what he is paving the way for here.

And you don’t have to look very deep below the surface to realize that first and foremost, there is no gift here because someone  has to go on paying for the construction and maintenance of highways and roads, and for the cost of the processing of driver’s licences, whether they own and drive a car or truck or not.

Just as he does with carbon pricing, Ford appears to view road tolls as just one more punishing tax that those nasty, left-wing tree huggers and dickey bird lovers are always trying to imposing on us.

In fact, road tolls have been used in provinces and states across North America for more than 60 years under all governments – left-wing, right-wing, liberal and conservative – to collect at least some of the funding needed to build and maintain roads from those who ride out of their driveways and actually use them.

Take away the tolls and every nickel and dime of the money needed to build and maintain those roads is spread across the entire population, including people who don’t own a truck or car, including people with limited income who can’t afford to own one.

Toll free highways also make it more appealing for people to commute longer distances, to and from cities and towns and low-density suburbs sprawling out across the countryside.

And any of us who have been paying attention to what Ford and his Conservatives have been up to over their close to six years in power know that there has been quite a push on to please their friends in the development industry who want to pave over the countryside, including precious food-growing lands in our Greenbelt.

This latest announcement to ban road tolls and driver’s licence fees, along with Ford’s continued efforts to do away with putting a price on carbon-polluting fuels, speaks to a government that is stuck in a 20^th-Century pothole of more low-density sprawl that continues to degrade and destroy what is left of our natural resources, including our food-growing lands, and flirt with climate disaster.

All of this while public transit systems across Ontario, including the regional transit system in Niagara, are struggling for funds to build more affordable, accessible services for the future.

It is frightening to think that we have two more years of this before there is another provincial election. But when that election comes, Ontario voters will hopefully go to the polls in droves and throw out this Ford government for the sake of a cleaner, healthier future for themselves and future generations.

• Doug Draper, Niagara At Large

A Quick P.S. – Just to confuse matters, which is another thing that Ford is good at, his government, aftergutting measures the former Ontario Liberal government launched more than six years ago to build more charging stations across the province for electric cars, announced this February 16^th that it is taking steps to encourage the installation of more charging stations across the province. I think the  title of that old Who song is; “We Won’t Get Fooled Again.”

Here is a link for that news release on charging stations – https://news.ontario.ca/en/release/1004197/ontario-making-it-easier-to-build-electric-vehicle-charging-stations

And now here is the Ford Government’s February 15^th, 2024 news release on banning road tolls and freezing driver’s licence fees –

Ontario Banning Road Tolls, Freezing Driver’s Licence Fees to Keep Costs Down

Province also saving drivers time by automating licence plate renewal process

A February 15th, 2024 News Release from Ontario’s Ford Government

TORONTO — The Ontario government is keeping costs down for drivers by introducing legislation that would, if passed, ban tolls on provincial highways. This ban would apply to the Don Valley Parkway and Gardiner Expressway once uploaded to the province, as well as the province’s 400-series highways.

“Our government under the leadership of Premier Ford is on a mission to keep costs down for families and businesses,” said Prabmeet Sarkaria, Minister of Transportation. “First, we scrapped the tolls on Highways 412 and 418, now we’re protecting drivers from the costs of new tolls. Together with our cut in the gas tax and eliminating the licence plate sticker fee, we’re saving drivers hundreds of dollars every year.”

To further keep costs down for people, the province is also proposing to make the current freeze on driver’s licence and Ontario Photo Card fees permanent through legislation, saving drivers an estimated $66 million over the next five years. By legislating the current freeze, which was originally put in place through regulation and which has saved applicants $22 million since 2019, the government is ensuring that any future increases can only be made through legislation.

The province is also proposing to save drivers time by automating the licence plate renewal process starting this summer, saving vehicle owners more than 900,000 hours each year. This follows recent action by the government to eliminate the cost of renewing your vehicle permit. Until the automatic renewal process begins, drivers are still required to renew their licence plates at no cost, which can be done online or in person at ServiceOntario. The automatic renewal process will only be available to drivers in good standing who do not have outstanding fines or tickets.

These measures are part of upcoming legislation that will kick off the spring sitting of the legislature on February 20, 2024. The Get It Done Act will include a variety of measures that, if passed, would build on the government’s commitments to date to streamline approvals for major infrastructure projects and housing, keep costs down for people and businesses, and support economic growth for long-term prosperity.

With Ontario’s population expected to grow by five million people over the next decade, the province is moving forward with building Highway 413 and the Bradford Bypass. These highways will bring relief to one of the most congested corridors in North America, helping commuters save 30 minutes a trip so they can spend time doing what matters most to them.

Over the next ten years, Ontario is also investing more than $70 billion to transform public transit in the province, which includes the largest subway expansion in Canadian history, including the Ontario Line, the Scarborough Subway Extension, the Eglinton Crosstown West Extension and the Yonge North Subway Extension.

The province is also moving forward with plans to extend the Hazel McCallion Light Rail Transit line by building the Mississauga loop and bringing the line into downtown Brampton and is calling on the federal government to join in a cost-sharing partnership to deliver two-way, all-day GO service on the Milton line.

Quick Facts

If passed, the proposed legislation would amend the Public Transportation and Highway Improvement Act to prohibit Ontario from introducing new tolls on provincial highways and potentially require public consultation before considering new tolls.

If passed, the proposed legislation would ensure any future increases for driver’s licence renewals or Ontario Photo Cards would require a legislative amendment.

Highways 412 and 418 have not been tolled since April 2022. Removing tolls on these highways is expected to save drivers $68 million between 2022-27.

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