By Staff
January 2025
BURLINGTON, ON
Marit Stiles, Leader of the Ontario NDP, has taken another run at the Premier over his lack of action on Highway 407.
Marit Stiles: point out the Premiers’ shortcomings.
“Empty promises are not going to get traffic moving. People are losing time and money stuck in traffic, while Doug Ford and his Conservatives continue to do nothing. They have had seven years to do the right thing and open up the underused 407 for more drivers and get us out of this ridiculous contract. Instead, he voted against the NDP’s common sense plan to end tolls on trucks and left us paying some of the highest tolls in the country.
“We need solutions, now – not decades from now.
“You deserve a Premier with the courage to stand up to corporations like the 407ETR. Actions speak louder than words and people are tired of waiting.”
Ford for his part says he hasn’t met with executives in charge of the private road admitting it was a conversation he needed to have.
No one is happy with the volume of traffic – many think opening up the toll highway will alleviate the problems.
I think it’s time to sit down with them and really take a look at different options.”
It was September when Ford first publicly discussed the idea of buying back Highway 407, which was sold into a private lease by the provincial government in the late 1990s. In a radio interview, Ford said he had thought about making an offer for the route but decided against it.
“We’ve thought of that as well,” Ford said. “Previous government sold it off for $2.3 billion, which was the biggest mistake I’ve ever seen.”
Mike Harris’ government sold Highway 407 in 1999 for $3.1 billion to pay down the provincial deficit. The estimated value of the highway today is $31 billion.
Last year I travelled from Burlington to Markham return on a Sunday. With no transponder the cost was $75 (i.e. 200 kilometres in total). By comparison, you could drive the NY State Thruway from Woodstock, New York to the Peace Bridge return with no EZ toll transponder for $52.80 return (1,100 kilometres). Yes…I would say something was awry.
If the Spanish consortium doesn’t want to sell it at a reasonable price then nationalize it. There are numerous examples of nationalization in Canadian history, even at the provincial level. It occurred in Quebec in 1944 under the Duplessis government (arguably the most conservative administration in Quebec’s history) when they took over the hydroelectric industry , and with the potash industry in Saskatchewan in 1975. The public good trumps private greed.
Well, she’s right, it was a stuuupid mistake to privatize the 407. Now they can charge ridiculous tolls with far far less wear and tear on the road while making the same kind of money.
Maybe Marit Stiles should read the terms and conditions of the agreement. But then she would not be able to rant and rave about it. She now owns and wears the look. Beyond that her comments are bupkis.