Mayor Rob Ford denounces Metrolinx transit taxes
By: Paul Moloney City Hall Bureau reporter, Published on Tue May 28 2013
Mayor Rob Ford has blasted the Metrolinx slate of new taxes to pay for expanded public transit, saying people can’t afford them.
Metrolinx, the province’s regional transit agency, says the cost to the average household would be $477 annually while a five-person family with two cars would pay $977 a year.
The new money would come from a 1 per cent HST hike, a 5-cent-per-litre gas tax, a commercial parking levy and increased development charges to fund the Metrolinx Big Move plan.
Ford weighed in on the new measures a day after they were announced in a city hall news conference late Wednesday where he refused to answer questions about the crack video scandal.
“What I do not support is the province’s plan to slap new taxes on the back of hardworking families in this great province,†Ford said.
“I will not support any of these new taxes on the residents of Toronto who are telling me, ‘We just can’t afford it.’ They’ve said it over and over and over to me.â€
After his remarks, reporters tried to ask about the video issue. Ford wouldn’t respond and left the room after saying the news conference was called to focus only on the tax issue.