GTA

Monday, May 13, 2013

Monday, May 13, 2013By Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Monday, May 13, 2013

Unease over LRT funding

Hamilton is asking for 100 per cent funding from the province with no strings attached in the form of new taxes, fees or levies.

The province says it can’t afford that deal, that it needs to create new revenue tools to finance 15 transit projects in the Greater Toronto Hamilton Area costing $34 billion, which includes a light rail line from McMaster to Eastgate.

On June 1, Metrolinx, the provincial transportation agency, is giving the province its recommendations on which funding tools to use.

But after that, answers to some key questions disappear into a thickening mizzle.

We don’t know what the provincial government will do with the recommendations or how long it will take to make a decision.

Premier Kathleen Wynne is a strong advocate of new revenue streams to tame the GTHA’s economically debilitating congestion and grow the regional transit network.

But whatever new taxes and fees are imposed, it’s not clear how they’ll be rolled out.

Other unknowns abound. For example, do GTHA municipalities have the option to bail on their projects rather than pay new taxes?

Can Hamilton tell the province and Metrolinx to count us out? We don’t want LRT or BRT. Just leave us alone and take the ‘H’ out of GTHA. (Source: Hamilton Spectator)

Saturday, March 24, 2007

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, Editorial Cartoonist, The Hamilton Spectator – Saturday, March 24, 2007

Hamilton a poor cousin

Did the flat-earthers have the right idea? Does the earth really end, drop off into oblivion, at the western border of Burlington?

Sure feels that way in Hamilton as the dust settles after this week’s provincial budget.

Hamiltonians will likely continue to see increased user fees, cuts in services and property tax hikes to cover the most basic of services. That’s what Greg Sorbara’s budget will look like here.

There is no doubt the Dalton McGuinty government has recognized the negative impact of downloading on older cities such as Hamilton. For the past three years, the province has come through for this city with top-ups for downloading: $19.5 million in 2004, $15 million in 2005, more than $20 million last year. This budget continues that recognition, even though it falls short of expectations. As well, the province has set up a panel to review the downloading of provincial programs onto municipalities, scheduled to report next February.

Why then, does Toronto get a good dollop of social services relief in this budget? Why are the GTA municipalities — newer, wealthier and with more growth potential and fewer infrastructure crises than Hamilton — off the hook for pooled social services costs? The pooling will be phased out and those municipalities will benefit. We never even had a chance to get our feet wet in that pool. (Source: Hamilton Spectator)