Collenette’s urban focus insulting
to rural Canadians
January 16,
2001
FORT ST. JOHN -- Today Jay Hill, Transportation
Critic for the Official Opposition, responded to Transport
Canada’s musings of an urban transportation infrastructure
program.
"Canadians, both urban and rural,
are paying high taxes on gas and diesel fuel, money that
should be re-invested in roads and to pay for new transportation
initiatives. I agree that Canada’s urban centres
need to resolve the problem of traffic congestion and
its impact on the environment. However, there are important
economic and safety-related transportation concerns in
rural Canada as well. Ottawa should stop playing politics
with these tax revenues and dedicate them to infrastructure
re-investment...period," stated Hill.
In 1998, the United States passed the
Transportation and Equity Act for the 21st
Century (TEA21). This bill invests $217.9-billion over
six years into infrastructure. This bill legislatively
guarantees that a minimum of 90.5% of the federal fuel
tax receipts from each state are returned to that state.
"I believe the U.S. initiative
has merit. They have identified the economic, safety and
environmental importance of augmenting transportation
infrastructure and trade corridors. The U.S. model automatically
returns tax revenues to the states where they are collected,
removing political interference and equalization formulas.
The federal Liberal government will never go for this
plan…there is no photo-op!" Hill continued.
Right now, the Greater Vancouver Area
has plans for a rapid transit system to alleviate gridlock
and the City of Toronto wants to improve its transportation
system as part of its 2008 Olympic bid. But the highways
in Saskatchewan, British Columbia and the Atlantic provinces
are in dire need of attention. So who gets the money?
What will the criteria be? How accountable to the taxpayer
will the final decision be?
"Canadians are tired of filling
up Paul Martin’s piggy bank every time they pull
up to the pumps. I believe that those tax dollars should
never reach Paul’s piggy bank in the first place.
We should consider allocating federal tax revenues from
gas and diesel automatically to the provinces. That way
local initiatives can be financed by tax revenues collected
locally. This plan is simple, practical and based on common
sense…exactly the reasons why the Liberals won’t
adopt it!" concluded Hill.
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