Hudak says Liberals can’t be trusted to spend road tolls on highways

TORONTO – Progressive Conservative Leader Tim Hudak says people can’t trust Ontario’s Liberal government to spend money from possible new road tolls or taxes on public transit.

The provincial agency Metrolinx has short-listed options to pay for expanding public transit and highways, including a payroll tax, a half-cent-a-litre tax on gasoline and tolls on the 400-series highways.

Hudak says he’s worried the Liberals first instinct is to raise taxes, and warns they could end up using the new revenue for something other than its stated purpose.

The PC leader reluctantly admits he too would have to consider tolls or taxes to pay for improvements to public transit and infrastructure, but says he would not agree to put tolls on existing highways.

He also says the province should “seize the wheel” by taking control of Toronto’s subways and LRT’s along with highways like the Gardner Expressway and Don Valley Parkway and merge them all under GO Transit for planning purposes.

The Liberal government hasn’t said if it will implement any of the Metrolinx suggestions, which also include a hike in property taxes or a one per cent sales tax with the revenue dedicated to transit.