TORONTO -- Ontario's New Democrats want to put the brakes on the government's plans for what they're calling "Lexus lanes" -- their third and last post-budget demand to keep the minority Liberals afloat and avoid an election.
The Liberals must drop plans to allow drivers without passengers to pay a toll to use high-occupancy lanes, at least until they close a tax loophole that will allow corporations to write off HST on entertainment and meals starting in 2015, said NDP Leader Andrea Horwath.
"What they do is basically squeeze out people who are already carpooling for the favour of trying to get people who can pay their way into those lanes," she said. "We don't think that's the right direction to go in."
The government has said it will wait for Metrolinx's final report in June before making a decision about which new fees they'll use to raise $2 billion a year for public transit in the Greater Toronto and Hamilton area.
But the Liberals announced in the May 2 budget that they'll introduce so-called high-occupancy toll lanes (HOT), without saying how much it will cost and inflating previous estimates of how much money it will bring in, she said.
Her party can't support the budget if it adds any new tolls, fees or taxes for individuals while handing tax breaks to corporations, she warned.
"We're actually using this opportunity ... to say, 'We're warning you. This is not a fair, balanced and transparent way to go, and we will not accept that kind of a plan if that's what you decide to bring in the fall," Horwath said.
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