Premier comments on Metrolinx report

As CHCH first reported on Monday, Metrolinx has released its plan for road and transit expansion in the Greater Toronto and Hamilton Area (GTHA). But, the cost to implement the plan won’t come cheap. The average cost per family is pegged at $477 a year. Metrolinx is recommending a five-cent-a-litre hike in the gasoline tax and a one percentage point jump in the HST to help fund public transit.

Premier Kathleen Wynne is making it clear that dealing with traffic congestion is a top priority for her government, even if it comes at a cost:

“The reality is that we are going to have to deal with the congestion in the GTHA. The reason we’re going to have to deal with that is for decades there has not been the work done that should have been done.”

The Premier isn’t saying whether she’ll implement the recommendations, but plans to take them “under advisement” and consult the public first.