Circle Monday, May 27. That’s when the governing board of Metrolinx is to consider a long-awaited “investment strategy” to massively expand public transit and transportation throughout the Greater Toronto Area.

Translation: new tolls and taxes.

It would be nice if everyone, even Toronto Mayor Rob Ford, endorsed the coming package of fees necessary to avoid ever-worsening gridlock. Ford will do no such thing, of course, even though the alternative is seeing our streets and highways resemble parking lots for much of each day. And there’s been some hand-wringing about his refusal from Oakville Mayor Rob Burton, among others, concerned that Toronto will somehow dodge paying its fair share.

They needn’t worry as long as Queen’s Park does the right thing. Ford can fulminate, but in the end this isn’t his decision. And it isn’t necessarily that of Toronto City Council, either. It’s up to Premier Kathleen Wynne to push ahead with the vast majority of big-ticket money-raising options that would pay for The Big Move.

That’s what Metrolinx calls its $50-billion plan to keep traffic and public transit flowingits $50-billion plan to keep traffic and public transit flowing in coming decades. Ontario has managed to cover only a fraction of that bill and has no hope of paying the rest without tapping new sources of money. Hence, tolls and taxes.

Again, it would be nice if elected councils in every region and municipality in the GTA and Hamilton accepted the need for such fundraising tools, along with every mayor and regional chair. Nice — but not necessary.

“There’s nothing in the legislation that would suggest any particular municipality has a veto,” Metrolinx CEO Bruce McCuaig noted in an interview. He added his agency’s recommended “investment strategy” will go to municipalities and the province, and it will be up to them to figure out how to proceed.

While cities should, of course, be consulted, they cannot have the final say. Most of the high-revenue fees now being given a final evaluation by Metrolinx planners fall under provincial jurisdiction, including tolls on 400-series highways, a GTA-wide sales tax, a special fuel tax and payroll taxes. And no council or mayor can dictate to the province what Ontario’s sales tax should be, or its taxes on gasoline, or tolls. That’s why the way forward is really up to Queen’s Park.

And that’s where politics enters the picture. New taxes and fees are never popular. And, as head of a minority Liberal government, Wynne is not in a strong position to push this agenda through the Legislature. Progressive Conservative Leader Tim Hudak is very unlikely to do the right thing. He’s almost as short-sighted as Ford. And the government might well be tempted to punt this issue by giving undue weight to municipal dithering, triggering more consultations, round tables and consensus-seeking dialogue.

There has already been enough of that — too much — while traffic jams worsen. Support from one source matters, above all else. To keep vehicles moving and gridlock at bay, Wynne will need the backing of New Democratic Party Leader Andrea Horwath. And it’s vital that Wynne receives it after the investment strategy is released — more important than gaining the endorsement of any city council or mayor.

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