The biggest roadblock to public support for transit is voter distrust of politicians, says civic activist John Tory.

Tory, chair of the Greater Toronto CivicAction Alliance (CivicAction), told MPPs from all parties Monday that taxpayers simply believe governments of all stripes and at all levels will take money collected for transit and “piddle” it away on other things.

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Right, now taxpayers are “terrified that that money is somehow going to end up in the same place that a lot of other money has ended up … which they will often call the black hole,” said Tory, who also hosts The Live Drive on Newstalk 1010.

CivicAction looks at the region’s social, economic and environmental challenges.

Tory said the non-partisan group is focused on “dedicated funding in a separate fund that is very transparent, that is governed in a way that the public can have confidence.”

Standing near a blow-up of Metrolinx’s so-called Big Move transit plan for the Greater Toronto and Hamilton Area, Tory took a shot at the Ontario opposition parties as well as the federal government for not doing their part to promote public transit.

According to Tory, the Conservatives’ promise to build transit by cutting waste just isn’t practical and the NDP, which once led the crusade for investment in public transit, is no longer in that leadership position.

“I think the both the opposition parties are disappointing. That doesn’t mean the Liberals are perfect but at least they have been speaking up and being a bit more forthright about this,” said Tory, adding that Ottawa has also failed transit users.

“What they (the federal government) is not doing is having a consistent reliable presence in transit going forward, not just in the Toronto region but cities across the country. They are alone among major western industrialized countries in not playing some role, especially as people gravitate to live in cities more,” he said.

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Tory noted that CivicAction has deliberately avoided recommending ways to raise money for transit. In Toronto, 20 per cent of the 2.5 per cent proposed property tax increase is to be set aside for transit.

In speaking to MPPs, Tory noted that only 133 politicians at all levels have signed onto the CivicAction pledge to invest money in transit regionally. “That’s a good number but it is not good enough. It represents about a third of all the elected representatives in . . . the GTHA,” he said.

“And we are asking today every one of the (provincial) party leaders … to tell us what specific new sources for funding they are committed to well in advance of an expected election because we know we need somewhere in the neighbourhood of $1 billion to $2 billion to fulfill this plan per year,” Tory said.

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