For Immediate Release
January 21, 2008

KLEES: No New Taxes on Ontario
Drivers and Commuters

(Queen's Park) - Frank Klees, MPP, the PC Transportation and Public Infrastructure Renewal Critic, today responded to the recommendations for new transport and transit taxes proposed in the study "Financing Public Transit and Transportation in the Greater Toronto Area and Hamilton: Future Initiatives" commissioned by the Residential and Civil Construction Alliance of Ontario.

"We agree that the funding of Ontario's infrastructure, including transit, roads and bridges, must be a priority, but we disagree that municipalities should be given the right to impose new taxes and user fees at will," Klees said.

"Municipalities need additional funding resources to meet their transportation and transit costs. This is why we proposed and will continue to press the provincial government to dedicate 100% of the gas and fuel taxes collected to meet transportation and transit needs. This would provide an additional $1.1 billion annually province-wide on a permanent basis on which municipalities can rely," Klees said. "This should be done immediately rather than continue to make empty, conditional promises about funding that may or may not come at some point in the future."

"We oppose the imposition of tolls and user fees on existing roads, as this will hurt the very people who can afford least the additional cost of daily commutes. Tolls and/or transportation user fees should be considered only for new projects where non-toll alternatives exist," Klees said.

"The federal government must be a partner in transportation infrastructure as federal governments are in every other jurisdiction. We should be promoting a positive partnership with Ottawa that will ensure long term and stable funding for both roads and transit projects."

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For more information:

Frank Klees, MPP

Newmarket-Aurora

PC Transportation Critic

(416) 509-8999