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ganjavih
Guest
The bright side is that there's finally serious competition for the Liberals... good for democracy.
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SD2
Guest
Don't worry...the tax credit on transit passes should mark a new beginning for public transit in Canada :rolleyes
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Antiloop33rpm
Guest
Maybe all the transit users will just decide to be nice and give their tax credit back to government so they can use it to actually invest in transit. Or maybe everything will far apart. Who knows.
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bizorky
Guest
What urban agenda are you referring to?
The dead one.
Sometimes this stuff has to be allowed time to soak into the government culture. The urban agenda was on the radar screen for all parties; it seems to have slipped aside for the time being.
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TdotTrickyRicky
Guest
I think the primary area of concern here is the issue of fiscal imbalance, an issue that matters the most to cities because most city concerns fall in the provincial jurisdiction. The only party that one could guarantee to be on side to address fiscal imbalance would be the Bloc, and only in a matter that would benefit Quebec. The Conservatives have only mentioned highways as an initiative for Federal transit capital expenditures (read applicable to anywhere but Toronto), my assumption therefore is that on the transit front the conservatives will implement their tax deduction policy and othewise ignore transit (unless it applies to municipalities outside Toronto). There is however no evidence that the Federal Liberals are willing to pump money into urban transit either. In general I would assume that the conservatives would be interested in shoring up their support in the 905, which unfortunately at times would come at the expense of Toronto issues.
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Antiloop33rpm
Guest
Harper was in New Brunswick today talking about cities, The New Deal and highways. He has pledged that he will not kill the New Deal for cities. But he did add a new national program to invest in highways and border crossings. And in a radio report I heard there was mention that smaller cities and towns would be eligible for the gas tax as well, so that may have a big impact in how much cities as Toronto and Montreal will eventually receive. Not much of a surprise overall. Ive been trying to get a comment from the Conservatives on VIA Rail, which has so far been unsuccesful. I have this sinking feeling that should they get a majority VIA Rail will be in its last days.
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www.cbc.ca/story/canadavo...astax.html
Harper promises more help for cities
Last Updated Wed, 11 Jan 2006 14:57:19 EST
CBC News
A Conservative government would keep the Liberals' "new deal" for cities and supplement it with $2 billion in funding, Stephen Harper said on Wednesday.
Campaigning in New Brunswick, Harper said he would stick with transferring five cents a litre from the federal gasoline tax to municipalities.
"We're committed to maintaining the new deal for cities and communities," he said. "But we believe this must be supplemented."
The Tories would implement a five-year fund for highways and border infrastructure worth $600 million in its final year, Harper added.
He also would track progress in reducing traffic by creating a road congestion index.
The national highway system is the backbone of the economy, Harper said while campaigning for the Jan. 23 election. Canada needs to upgrade both the system and the municipal infrastructure, he added.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
www.cbc.ca/story/canadavo...astax.html
Harper promises more help for cities
Last Updated Wed, 11 Jan 2006 14:57:19 EST
CBC News
A Conservative government would keep the Liberals' "new deal" for cities and supplement it with $2 billion in funding, Stephen Harper said on Wednesday.
Campaigning in New Brunswick, Harper said he would stick with transferring five cents a litre from the federal gasoline tax to municipalities.
"We're committed to maintaining the new deal for cities and communities," he said. "But we believe this must be supplemented."
The Tories would implement a five-year fund for highways and border infrastructure worth $600 million in its final year, Harper added.
He also would track progress in reducing traffic by creating a road congestion index.
The national highway system is the backbone of the economy, Harper said while campaigning for the Jan. 23 election. Canada needs to upgrade both the system and the municipal infrastructure, he added.
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AlvinofDiaspar
Guest
Antiloop:
I thought the Liberal New Deal is already done on a per-capita basis at the provincial level anyways? Remember how it all shifted from "cities" to "communities"?
AoD
I thought the Liberal New Deal is already done on a per-capita basis at the provincial level anyways? Remember how it all shifted from "cities" to "communities"?
AoD
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Antiloop33rpm
Guest
Alvin:
Im not sure to be honest. I will have to look that up and see if that was allready decided upon. I know there was discussion of changing the structure of how the funds were divided up but I dont remember reading that it had officially been done. Its possible I tuned out news for that week and missed that change.
Edit: Your right. According to this article on the CBC website "The federal government will allocate the funding on a per capita basis to provinces, territories and First Nations." This does make me wonder though if each province is required to distribute the money on a per capita basis or if they choose how they feel the money should be allocated.
I must have somehow misinterpreted the comment by Harper, or the piece was edited to make it seem as though the additional focus on smaller towns and villages was directly related to The New Deal for Cities.
Im not sure to be honest. I will have to look that up and see if that was allready decided upon. I know there was discussion of changing the structure of how the funds were divided up but I dont remember reading that it had officially been done. Its possible I tuned out news for that week and missed that change.
Edit: Your right. According to this article on the CBC website "The federal government will allocate the funding on a per capita basis to provinces, territories and First Nations." This does make me wonder though if each province is required to distribute the money on a per capita basis or if they choose how they feel the money should be allocated.
I must have somehow misinterpreted the comment by Harper, or the piece was edited to make it seem as though the additional focus on smaller towns and villages was directly related to The New Deal for Cities.
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AlvinofDiaspar
Guest
Antiloop:
I recall the Star did a glowing piece of a good chunk of the gas tax going to TO, only to be slapped in the face days later with an annoucement that the original portion of the gas tax would be done per capita (with AMO chair Anderson gloating about it). The NDP top-up was divved up by ridership I think.
AoD
I recall the Star did a glowing piece of a good chunk of the gas tax going to TO, only to be slapped in the face days later with an annoucement that the original portion of the gas tax would be done per capita (with AMO chair Anderson gloating about it). The NDP top-up was divved up by ridership I think.
AoD
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bizorky
Guest
Conservatives announced new money for highways bundled in with their city agenda. That'll be excellent for donwtown Toronto. It needs more car commuters.
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Jarrek
Guest
Conservatives announced new money for highways bundled in with their city agenda. That'll be excellent for donwtown Toronto. It needs more car commuters.
Don't you think that's a little premature?
I'm sure the money will go to actually building a decent highway system from coast to coast and improve border crossings.
The benefits to the economy would be huge.
Besides, their idea of subsidizing public transportation costs and getting more people to use it is pretty good.
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Antiloop33rpm
Guest
Besides, their idea of subsidizing public transportation costs and getting more people to use it is pretty good.
Because the best of improving transit is not to actually invest in upgrading it but trying to offer people money to use an allready crowded over burdened system? Its not a good idea, its stupid. Its a neat trick to convince people they care about transit when they dont.
The benefits to the economy would be huge.
Investing in highways and personal transportation at a time of soaring energy costs is not thinking about the economy per say, but a good way to get a few more people in rural and suburban ridings to hope aboard the Conservative bandwagon.
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rbtaylor
Guest
The Canadian economy survives despite the inefficiencies in the system, not because of them. If you track down the money in Canada and it's primary sources you quickly find it is generated by cities with large public transportation networks. Everywhere else is a net loss.The benefits to the economy would be huge.
Some locations (Eastern provinces, Northern Alberta, Northern Ontario) have temporary money influxes because of the resources they export but those are temporary only and their primary clients and enablers are those large public transit oriented cities.
Improving the net worth of Canada must be done by improving efficiency. Improving the gross worth of Canada can be accomplished easily by borrowing to install or maintain inefficient tools.
Conservatives are trying to buy votes with our own money by buying cakes instead of vegetables. Sure, we might enjoy cakes more run but veggies are far better for us and at some point you pay the price.
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EnviroTO
Guest
I'm sure the money will go to actually building a decent highway system from coast to coast and improve border crossings.
They are probably only keeping the program that the government already has in place and announcing it as policy because the money hadn't been spent yet.
Border Infrastructure Fund
Click news releases to see that this is regurgitated news.
Here is the whole list of existing commitments:
Canadian Infrastructure Investments
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Antiloop33rpm
Guest
What I dont understand is why dont the Liberals pick up on these points and go after the Conservatives on the basis of reusing their own announcements for policy investments instead of rehashing the same attacks they used last campaign? Maybe there is some logical reason. I dont think I could ever be a political strategist due to the fact that I dont think I could understand the manner in which campaigns are often won (not so much on facts, policy, and rational thinking, but rather simply appealing to the majority who base their decision on 4 weeks (or 8 weeks) of campaign rehtoric only to expunge politics from their daily lives until the next election comes around).