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2018 Provincial Election Transit Promises

Selfishly RER does nothing for me. This plan is a win if I thought it was remotely doable. Promises now...study,study,study...delay,delay...study some more..retire/fired.
On the contrary RER does a lot for me. Or more specifically the Stouffville Line. If DoFo kills RER, i.e. no electrification, SmartTrack is dead. He is working against John Tory, unless Toronto elects a new mayor this year, who does not support SmartTrack.
 
That means $14 billion is available ($9 Bn already earmarked + new $5 Bn from the Tories).

Crosstown upgrades = ~$2 billion
Sheppard Subway Don Mills to McCowan = ~$4-5 billion (they may opt for cheaper construction methods than the status quo)

That leaves $7 billion and DRL phase 1 is estimated to cost $6.8 billion. Seems like everybody wins.

You've forgotten about TTC's 4+Billion in outstanding SOGR work which includes such things as the resignalling and replacement rolling stock for line 2, a pre-requisite for the Scarborough extension.

I realize the conservative plan is to upload the subway but I wouldn't expect the entire pool of cash to stay at city level; otherwise they'll be forced to upload Ottawa's system too (capital maintenance).
 
They of course assume that this will not drive away employees or high-growth industries. Plus a 55% tax rate is unpalatable for a lot of people living in Silicon Valley or NYC looking move. Here comes another recession if this happens.

If she is elected she (and all of Ontario) will have the same day of reckoning that occurred with Bob Rae. Immediate cuts to transit, etc just to keep the lights on at Queens Park
I'm no fan of any of the parties, and a partial apology to @TrickyRicky, he did state "musing"...because as much as I'm a Centrist, at this juncture in time, with Canada looking at decreasing inward investment, and Ontario poised to be hit if not the hardest, then one of them, talk of increasing corporate taxes immediately indicates someone not availed of the facts of life. That's stupid talk on the part of Horwath.

Some excellent posts above, I was saving quips to quote and answer, but all of them have been addressed by others. There are no answers at this point, just three amateurs throwing out figures not one of them could explain.

This election is for Horwath to win. But instead of tacking even further left than the Libs, she'd best start 'talking sense' to gain the disaffected centrists' vote.

And instead of debt financing, it's P3, with only a few rare exceptions. One only has to study how other nations and jurisdictions are doing this. Ironically, the Libs were on the right course, but unable to take it to the voters. That's Wynne's failing, and for having idiots like Il Duce for Transportation Min.

Jeezzzuz...

Horwath better find some smarts, and fast. It looks like the testosterone is already working for her.
 
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Selfishly RER does nothing for me. This plan is a win if I thought it was remotely doable. Promises now...study,study,study...delay,delay...study some more..retire/fired.

Agreed. Fords have promised the moon in the past without knowing whether it could be done or not; we now know they were severely over-reaching in the past.

I would be much happier if Fedeli or MacLeod (the previous/current finance critics) gave some indication it was doable on a 5 year time scale.
 
On the contrary RER does a lot for me. Or more specifically the Stouffville Line. If DoFo kills RER, i.e. no electrification, SmartTrack is dead. He is working against John Tory, unless Toronto elects a new mayor this year, who does not support SmartTrack.
As much as I voted for Tory because I didnt want Ford I always thought smarttrack was more dumbtrack.... I can live with it... Why not be selfish right.. Sure seems to be working for OneCity, Coffey1.
 
As much as I voted for Tory because I didnt want Ford I always thought smarttrack was more dumbtrack.... I can live with it... Why not be selfish right.. Sure seems to be working for OneCity, Coffey1.
I agree we should vote based on our own interests. Now we are voting for a premier instead of the Toronto mayor. You can build all transits within the city as you want, but if the 905 do not have more frequent, more affordable connection to those transits they won't benefit them.

SmartTrack has a provincial input right? I have no problem cancelling it and direct the funds to build the actual regional RER.
 
I agree we should vote based on our own interests. Now we are voting for a premier instead of the Toronto mayor. You can build all transits within the city as you want, but if the 905 do not have more frequent, more affordable connection to those transits they won't benefit them.
Guess you shouldn't have moved to the farm.
 
Subway (and this is not smart unless *all* heavy inter-jurisdictional transitways are included) uploading has a clear logic to it. There's argument to be made on how to institute this, Toronto long ago lost the plot by so willingly spreading her legs and inviting all in to share in the subsidized booty.

It's regional now, and so should the planning. The funding was long ago too, and the costs of doing this can be explained in much more rational terms than the conjecture being offered so far.
 
They of course assume that this will not drive away employees or high-growth industries. Plus a 55% tax rate is unpalatable for a lot of people living in Silicon Valley or NYC looking move. Here comes another recession if this happens.

If she is elected she (and all of Ontario) will have the same day of reckoning that occurred with Bob Rae. Immediate cuts to transit, etc just to keep the lights on at Queens Park

While I don't have a personal issues w/the marginal rate in question. Again this is not the rate as paid on aggregate total income, I would agree, optically that that isn't an ideal choice.

Some of that, however, could be addressed by closing loopholes in the personal income tax system that are in wide use.

If one were to return capital gains to being 75% taxable for instance, that would allow a reduction in marginal rates and an increase in basic exemption. Rolling back TFSAs (hey, I have one too), restoring tighter caps on RRSP deductions and capping the capital gains exemption on a principal residence at $1,000,000 would allow further tax reductions elsewhere.

Beyond that I would personally like to see a return to 15% sales tax (as Quebec and the Atlantic provinces did) where the 1st point would bring the budget to balance and the 2nd could be used to raise the basic exemption.

There are lots of alternative combinations that allow for properly funding the government, delivering additional needed services, and streamlining taxation, making the tax system more transparent, and address optics issues that may occur as a result of a litany of loopholes.

***

On Corporate tax, 13% is a very modest and reasonable rate in historical terms not only for Ontario, but globally, however, in light of where other's have moved their rates, pending a treaty that establishes a global minimum rate, I would have preferred 12% (up 0.5% as this would being us in w/the rate in AB, BC and Quebec.

To offset that, I would have raised the small business rate which has become absurdly low, at 2.5%. Though my effective increase would only be to about 5%, because I would lower business education tax, which is a fixed cost, and give hospitality businesses access to beer/wine in a wholesale market instead of retail, again reducing fixed costs, as well as reduce the employer health tax. For those reasons, I would end up proposing a small business rate of about 8%, but as noted the net effect would be much lower.

But, hey, I didn't get invited to write the platform, so I have to choose from what's on offer.
 
So, where does service to Barrie fall in this? Cancel the Davenport Diamond? Or just leave Aurora with hourly diesel service?

- Paul
 
So, where does service to Barrie fall in this? Cancel the Davenport Diamond? Or just leave Aurora with hourly diesel service?

- Paul
One of the many questions, including the lack of the term "electrification" in any of this that I can find. And that's the key to it all.
 
For those who live outside of the GTHA, subway uploading isn’t going to be popular. I lived far away from any GO/TTC/regional transit for a number of years. People hated that their provincial tax dollars went to support GO which was of no benefit to them. Now add TTC uploading and they will really be fuming. Cue the cries of Ontario is about more than just Toronto. Of course, if they choose to support Ford, they will reap what they sow in more ways than just transit.
 
For those who live outside of the GTHA, subway uploading isn’t going to be popular. I lived far away from any GO/TTC/regional transit for a number of years. People hated that their provincial tax dollars went to support GO which was of no benefit to them. Now add TTC uploading and they will really be fuming. Cue the cries of Ontario is about more than just Toronto. Of course, if they choose to support Ford, they will reap what they sow in more ways than just transit.
I was just thinking about that! Watching Wynne's announcement, as I almost fell asleep...but heard how, in reply to a journo's question "Why the announcement in Etobicoke?" and Wynne mentioned she's in Ottawa tomorrow.

And then it clicked...GTHA egocentricity...and add to that "Subways, Subways, Subways"....and it's completely at odds with "efficient delivery". I chuckled. The more Ford opens his mouth, the more he has to lose.

But Horwath has got to get her act together. If she can't talk sense now, she's doomed.
 
For those who live outside of the GTHA, subway uploading isn’t going to be popular. I lived far away from any GO/TTC/regional transit for a number of years. People hated that their provincial tax dollars went to support GO which was of no benefit to them. Now add TTC uploading and they will really be fuming. Cue the cries of Ontario is about more than just Toronto. Of course, if they choose to support Ford, they will reap what they sow in more ways than just transit.
How many ridings do not benefit from GO or subways?
 

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