[Northern Magus]

I have that gut feeling that our streetcars are not going to make it if Hudak gets in.

You've sure got that right: he's already started dogwhistling the end to public transit investments.

From the Star, published moments ago:

Hudak wants to end ‘war on cars’

DUNDAS, ONT.—Ontario’s Ontario’s Progressive Conservative leader said Saturday he wants to end Premier Dalton McGuinty’s “war on the car,” borrowing a phrase from the successful election campaign of Toronto’s right-leaning mayor.

Tim Hudak is spending Saturday in the Hamilton and Niagara areas, where he said if he is premier after the Oct. 6 election he will make sure a highway is constructed through the region.

“A good highway route like that would not only create jobs in building it, but most importantly will attract new businesses to our area and help to break the gridlock, because families are spending far too much time stuck in their cars and not home with the kids,” Hudak said.

There is some opposition to the project from local residents, who worry the highway would negatively affect environmentally sensitive areas.

Susan McMaster, co-chair of the group Citizens Opposed to Paving the Escarpment, sought Hudak out as he popped into businesses in downtown Dundas. She said the highway isn’t needed for the area and is an “utter waste of money.”

“At this point we need our food supply. We don’t need this highway,” McMaster said after Hudak walked away. “We’re talking about some of the last viable farmland in the area and they want to pave right through it.”

Hudak later defended his plan: “There’s some people who don’t want to build highways in our province. I do.”

He has previously said the exact location of the highway would have to be determined through public hearings and consultations with communities, though he said it will probably start along the Queen Elizabeth Way outside Fort Erie and head west, south of the Niagara Escarpment, toward the Hamilton airport.

Last year the Liberals shelved plans for a mid-peninsula highway after a Ministry of Transportation study said the four-lane expressway wouldn’t be needed for at least another 20 years.

An alternate route to the QEW from Niagara to Hamilton has been talked about for decades. It was last championed by former Conservative premier Mike Harris, but fell out of favour when the Liberals were elected in 2003.

Hudak said a plan to build the highway is part of an overall strategy to ease congestion on Ontario’s major roads.

“We’ve set aside $35 billion for infrastructure investments, largely targeted at breaking gridlock and helping families spend more time together, getting goods to market,” he said. “It’s a balanced plan. So yes, it’s highways, yes it’s transit. We’ve got to get the right balance and we need to end the war on the car that we’ve seen from the McGuinty Liberals.”

The phrase “war on cars” was used by Rob Ford in his victorious run for Toronto mayor last year on a campaign that included issues targeted at commuter and suburban communities. He, too, pledged to end a war on cars.

Ford has decided not to endorse any party in the Ontario election. In May, he threw his support and the weight of what he calls “Ford Nation” behind Prime Minister Stephen Harper just days before the federal election.

The lack of an official endorsement from Ford may prove a saving grace for Hudak, as polls suggest Ford’s strong approval ratings have been slipping and he has been pilloried over potential cuts to services and programs. Ford did not say why he’s not wading into this campaign.

 

[Northern Magus]

I think a Hudak minority is extremely unlikely. That would mean that the NDP/Liberals have more seats ... so I figure they'd be the minority ...

"Extremely unlikely"? Oh really? When the dust settles on e-day, whoever wins the most seats gets to call the shots (see Harper, Stephen Joseph, 2008).

And lest ye forget, Metrolinx is an agency of the provincial government that does not require legislation to change its plans.

 

[Monarch Butterfly]

For those who want to see the entire CP24 interview with Tim Hudak, click on this link.

The section of Hudak 2 - Friday, September 30, 2011 is the part that contains remarks on the war on the car is over, his agreeing with Rob Ford plans against Transit City, and overturning long-range transit planning and going with short-term transit planning instead.

 

[Electrify]

If Eglinton gets canceled again, then the Conservatives will never be re-elected in Toronto again, ever.

(I can hope, at least :\)

BTW what would this mean for the SRT?

 

[Eug]

Personally I'm hoping for strategic voting from NDPers so that the Liberals get at least a minority govt. That's the safest realistic way (other than a Liberal majority) of the Metrolinx plan going ahead.

 

[nfitz]

"Extremely unlikely"? Oh really? When the dust settles on e-day, whoever wins the most seats gets to call the shots

No ... the party in power calls the shots. The Liberals could get less seats than the Tories, however if the number of Liberal and NDP seats exceed the Tories, McGuinty could choose to try and govern.

Even if McGuinty was to resign, and Hudak did try to govern, remember what happened to Premier Miller in 1985. He had 52 seats compared to 48 for the Liberals, but tried to govern, but was quickly defeated in the Legislature, and the Liberals under David Peterson ended up forming a government that lasted for over 2 years, with the support of the NDP under Bob Rae.

While it's entirely possible that Hudak may get the most seats, I doubt very much he would be able to govern in a minority government, unless there is some bizarre deal reached with the NDP.

 

[Eug]

The Liberals could get less seats than the Tories, however if the number of Liberal and NDP seats exceed the Tories, McGuinty could choose to try and govern.

Possible, but unlikely. Probably more wishful thinking than anything.

 

[nfitz]

Possible, but unlikely. Probably more wishful thinking than anything.

Why unlikely? Liberal premier Peterson had no trouble governing for over 2 years with less seats than the Tories, before there was another election and the Liberals got a majority.

 

[Eug]

Why unlikely? Liberal premier Peterson had no trouble governing for over 2 years with less seats than the Tories, before there was another election and the Liberals got a majority.

Sorry for another off topic post, but:

McGuinty rules out coalition governnent [sic]

In a letter obtained by The Canadian Press on Sunday, the premier tells Progressive Conservative Leader Tim Hudak that he won't be making any deals to form a government.

"I am running to form a Liberal government — and only a Liberal government," McGuinty said in the letter. "There will be no coalition with either your party or the NDP."

 

[MetroMan]

... and here you have it folks: just as I was mentioning that Transit City could be revived because its death was never voted on by City Council, we have this: Councillor Matlow Wonders If Transit City Could Rise From the Dead

Stintz confirm that it's a possibility:

"Any discussion about whether or not (Transit City) get revisited would be done in conjunction with Metrolinx," said TTC chair Karen Stintz.

Former TTC commissioner Mihevic sounds optimistic:

Former TTC vice chair Joe Mihevc believes "anything is possible in terms of Transit City" and thinks if the Liberals return to office at Queen's Park after election day, it increases the chances the plan could return.

Maybe these 10 months of Ford will be a small flash in the pan in the grand scheme of things after all. The Fort York bridge seems poised to return and Transit City might get revived. David Miller said in an interview recently that most of the leg work for Transit City has been done. "You can turn it on at the push of a button" he said. "Finch can have shovels in the ground in 2 months, Sheppard, next week".

 

[nfitz]

Sorry for another off topic post, but:

McGuinty rules out coalition governnent [sic]

In a letter obtained by The Canadian Press on Sunday, the premier tells Progressive Conservative Leader Tim Hudak that he won't be making any deals to form a government.

It's not entirely off-topic, as a Hudak government would likely spell the death of the Eglinton line ... that's $8-billion that they can take and spend in places other than Toronto. They've already made it clear that they want to kill Transit City and get rid of Toronto's new streetcars.

I've always figured the most likely placed you'd find a coalition government would be between the NDP and the Tories. I think the only way the NDP would support a Tory government instead of a Liberal one would be some kind of power in a coalition.

Still the whole thing is a bit of a red herring. Ontario has had minority governments over the years - but we haven't had a coalition government since the UFO-led one with Labour after the 1919 election.

 

[Amy Rose]

BTW what would this mean for the SRT?

Heres the NEW SRT for you!

 

[TDE]

Heres the NEW SRT for you!

Ahh, yes. The 131E Hudak's Nugget Express....

 

[gweed123]

It's not entirely off-topic, as a Hudak government would likely spell the death of the Eglinton line ... that's $8-billion that they can take and spend in places other than Toronto. They've already made it clear that they want to kill Transit City and get rid of Toronto's new streetcars.

I've always figured the most likely placed you'd find a coalition government would be between the NDP and the Tories. I think the only way the NDP would support a Tory government instead of a Liberal one would be some kind of power in a coalition.

Still the whole thing is a bit of a red herring. Ontario has had minority governments over the years - but we haven't had a coalition government since the UFO-led one with Labour after the 1919 election.

I think that if a Minority were to be elected, the NDP would side with the Liberals well ahead of siding with the PCs. The ideological differences are much smaller. Plus I think the Liberals would be more willing to compromise, and maybe even give the NDP a couple cabinet posts.

I envision a Liberal/NDP coalition being somewhat a hybrid minority/majority government. On average issues, they vote as separate parties, voting for their own interests. But on matters of Confidence (ie the budget), they would vote as one. Naturally the budget would contain some measures that the NDP would want in exchange for their support.

 

[Monarch Butterfly]

Heres the NEW SRT for you!

I thought that was Rob Ford's 36 Finch West replacement for the Etobicoke Finch West LRT.