Liberals to Fund GTA Transit on Back of Northerners

QUEEN’S PARK – Northerners will be forced to pay new taxes to help fund Southern Ontario transit plans according to recommendations from the Wynne Liberals’ transit panel, Nipissing MPP Vic Fedeli said today.

  The panel, which issued its report today, is recommending a graduated increase in provincial gasoline taxes up to 10 cents a litre.   “Just days after the Auditor slammed Kathleen Wynne for the billion-dollar Liberal ONTC fire sale boondoggle, she’s preparing to launch another assault on Northerners through this massive gas tax hike,” said an exasperated Fedeli.   “Northerners are fed up and simply won’t tolerate this.”   This past summer, Fedeli distributed a mailout to households throughout Nipissing, advising of the Wynne Liberals’ plans to seek tax and fee increases to pay for transit in the Greater Toronto and Hamilton Area.   “I presented the more than 600 cards that were returned to my office, all from constituents opposed to this,” said Fedeli.   “Yet the Liberals continue to push ahead on this front.  They clearly have no regard for the interests of Northern Ontario, and much like they did with the ONTC fire sale, they still aren’t listening to Northerners.”   Ontarians don’t trust this government with one more cent of their hard-earned tax dollars, and it’s time their interests were put ahead of those of the Liberal party, added Fedeli.   “Our leader Tim Hudak and the Ontario PCs are clear where we stand on this – no new taxes for transit.  The only way to stop this is to change the team that leads this province.”