Ontario Finance Minister Charles Sousa is demanding a meeting with his federal counterpart to break the gridlock on the funding of transit.

In the wake of federal Finance Minister Jim Flaherty’s refusal to allow any regional increase to the 13 per cent harmonized sales tax to bankroll new public transit, Sousa said Sunday the two governments urgently need to talk.

“I am . . . writing to request a meeting with you on this critical issue as soon as possible,” the provincial treasurer wrote in a letter to Flaherty obtained by the Star.

Sousa’s missive was a response to the federal finance minister’s broadside Thursday when he warned that tinkering with the HST would contravene the 2010 tax agreement between the two levels of government.

“We did not lower the GST to have it taken away from Ontarians by the (Premier Kathleen) Wynne government with a news sales tax hike,” wrote Flaherty, referring to his cut to the federal tax to 5 per cent from 7 per cent prior to harmonization.

“As you are well aware, the Comprehensive Integrated Tax Coordination Agreement signed by the government of Ontario does not allow for the provincial component of the HST to vary between regions within the province,” the federal treasurer continued.

“Any proposal to raise the rate of the provincial component of the HST within municipal or regional boundaries would contravene the agreement,” he said, referring to Metrolinx’s recommendation last week to raise the HST locally.

“Let me be clear, our government will not accept such a proposed regional sales tax increase on the residents of the Greater Toronto/Hamilton Area,” Flaherty wrote.

But Sousa said the federal treasurer is putting the cart before the horse.

“As you are well aware, the province has not asked the federal government for any changes to the harmonized sales tax,” he wrote Sunday.

“However, since 2010, we have repeatedly requested that the federal government invest in a national transit strategy — with dedicated infrastructure dollars for the building of more transit,” Sousa said.

“This is not only an economic, social and environmental imperative, it is also an urgent obligation of national importance,” he added.

“Moreover, given the (Prime Minister Stephen) Harper government’s commitment to job creation through Canada’s Economic Action Plan, your government would be a natural partner in the creation of an estimated 987,700 person years of employment over the next 20 years through Metrolinx’s $50 billion Big Move projects.”

Sousa, who represents Mississauga South, and Flaherty, representing Whitby-Oshawa, are well-versed on the commuting challenges that grip Greater Toronto. They are both GO train riders who regularly hear about traffic headaches from their neighbours and constituents.

Still, the provincial Liberals and the federal Conservatives appear to be on a political collision course over new taxes to fund transit infrastructure.

Both parties dominate the Greater Toronto Area and Hamilton electorally and each wants to be seen as a champion for the region.

To Sousa, that means Ottawa has to step up.

“Unfortunately, your government’s current investment in transit through the Building Canada Fund provides only 4 per cent of the necessary funding needed to address the transit and transportation deficit in the GTHA,” he told Flaherty.

“Congestion is also a significant challenge for businesses. The Toronto Region Board of Trade states that all levels of government must be involved, including a more prominent role by the federal government.”

Indeed, board president Carol Wilding, who estimates congestion costs the region’s economy $6 billion a year, also wants to sit down with Flaherty to discuss the matter.

But embattled Toronto Mayor Rob Ford, a close Flaherty friend and political ally, said on Twitter Sunday that “Kathleen Wynne’s Metrolinx plan takes the easy way out — passing the burden onto taxpayer.”

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Ford, under fire over a video that appears to show him smoking crack cocaine and making racist and homophobic slurs, opposes any new taxes to pay for transit.

A 1 per cent increase to the HST is the linchpin of Metrolinx’s transit investment strategy designed to raise $2 billion annually to fund 13 big-ticket transit projects.

Those include a downtown relief subway for Toronto, electrification of some GO train lines, and Mississauga’s Hurontario light-rail transit.

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