More Faux-Green Taxes for Ontario?

Less than two weeks ago, Frank Klees quoted the CTF’s Gas Tax Honesty Report in Question Period at Queen’s Park, stating that, “the only thing that should surprise Ontarians about Dalton McGuinty is if he doesn’t surprise them with new taxes after every election.” Well today, Premier McGuinty’s thrice appointed environment commissioner began banging the tax-drums again.

Advocating for “green” road-tolls to syphon money from drivers to public transit and a carbon tax (ostensibly to syphon money from Ontarians to China and other polluters), the commissioner would seem to be stepping far beyond the appropriate bounds of an officer of Parliament and directly into the sphere of political advoacy. His plan would put in place tolls on roads to achieve two ends:

Lower the number of cars on the road by making driving even more unafforable for all but the affluent; and
Channel the funds from the shmuks still on the road into public transit.

Ontario drivers will already be paying a full 34% of their pump price in taxes after the HST takes effect on July 1st. Commissioner Miller doesn’t think that this is enough, and one has to wondering if Ontario’s Environment Minister Gerresten and Premier McGunity agree.

Even if the premier and his environment minister don’t nod in agreement with their spokesman commissioner, they would be wise to recognize that drivers have been directly subsidizing public transit for years. Only recently has the federal government made moves to ensure that gas tax dollars are reinvested into roads, but public transit is still massively subsidized by general revenues (which is Latin for: all taxpayers).

If the commissioner deems that it is in his job description to act as a government-paid front for environmental lobby groups, than he might consider directing his tax-wrath elsewhere. Ontario is plagued by many real and serious environmental problems: the state of the Great Lakes and fuel spills in the north among them. The quality of our land, air and water are areas of concern that matter, with solutions that are grounded in solid science. Political advocacy for more taxes to satisfy some Kyoto met-dream is not only bad for taxpayers, it distracts the public from serious environmental concerns.

June 1, 2010 Tags: Carbon Tax, Dalton McGuinty, Environment, Environmental Commissioner, Frank Klees, Gas Tax Honesty, Gord Miller, John Gerretsen, Ontario Liberal Party, Ontario Minister of the Envionment, Ontario PC Party, Ontario Politics, Road Tolls Posted in: Blog Content

3 Responses

Durward - June 1, 2010

Public transit already receives money from the gas tax that was introduced solely for the creation and upkeep of roads.
Public transit also steals from the hydro rates paid by home owners.
If anything we should be suing for the return of those taxes and inflated hydro rates.
Transit should be self sustaining or ended.
It’s misappropriation no matter how you cut it.
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L - June 1, 2010

So, is Ontario going to say no yet??? Or just put up with the tax and spend Liebrals at both levels? When will Ontario come to its senses federally and provincially.