[nrb]

Take it from someone who work in the government. Savings are not that hard to find but Senior managers are very good at protecting their perks and budgets.

Example:

If I'm the government and I give you a budget of 1B$ for this year to run you department, how would you use your resources to maximize your productivity? In the private sector, you would try your best since any surplus can be used for further investments to grow your business, cash flow, bonuses etc... Government doesn't work that way at all!!!.

-If you're a senior manager in public service and that by March 28th you only used 90% of the budget, do you know what you will do as all your fellow managers does?
You will spend everything that's left of it before the end of the fiscal year. Why?

-Because if they don't, the money is not carried over to next year's budget...It must be returned to treasury Board. What happens if it does?
You trigger a review from Treasury board who will likely reduce your budget. No managers wants that, so they spend it all and ask for more the following year.

They all do it. When politicians wants to find efficiencies, they usually mean it but who knows a department better than it's senior director? A minister? Not a chance. That's why the Harper government asked the Private sector to audit some of the departments. Politicians knows that senior public managers (deputy ministers) do it. After the multiple audits, Harper's government ended up getting rid of a lot of them and replaced them with their own people.

Every end of fiscal year is the same. I've seen crazy things being purchased by managers just to burn the cash that's left hence all those facility request pilling up near the end of the year to reconfigure, redecorate an office, buy new furniture, electronics etc...

The real question is, will Hudak be as efficient as Harper was?

It's a fair analysis of how departmental budgets are set but it's not every year or even every department that has excess funds before the end of the fiscal year. In fact it's fairly rare. And one of the motivations for keeping the budget from being cut because of a especially lean year is that it's likely you'll need the room next year anyway. It's a long-term issue that requires planning more than one year ahead of time.

The problem with funding transit with reallocating existing funds is that it's not sustainable. You might have the money one year and have a bad year the next, in fact you probably will, and then it's a disaster. We're talking about 20-25 year projects that require multiyear construction. We need sustainable funding that is solid and in place so we don't end of with aborted tunnels when suddenly the economy becomes especially bad and the government finds itself with a huge loss in revenue.

 

[salsa]

If you look at any leading city, you will see that they each have their own form of revenue tools dedicated to transit, as well as subsidies from the government. To me that says a lot about the feasibility of the idea that you can build transit through efficiencies alone, without raising taxes. And of course our crackhead mayor ran on a platform of eliminating enormous waste in city hall, yet only managed to save a few paperclips.

 

[Adjei]

If you look at any leading city, you will see that they each have their own form of revenue tools dedicated to transit, as well as subsidies from the government. To me that says a lot about the feasibility of the idea that you can build transit through efficiencies alone, without raising taxes. And of course our crackhead mayor ran on a platform of eliminating enormous waste in city hall, yet only managed to save a few paperclips.

But somehow we are supposed to believe that we can somehow build all the transit we need through efficiencies despite so much overwhelming evidence from everywhere that this can't be done and no one else does it.

 

[jamincan]

Didn't Toronto elect someone based on promises of cutting gravy and finding efficiencies? How well did that work out?

 

[TJ O'Pootertoot]

Didn't Toronto elect someone based on promises of cutting gravy and finding efficiencies? How well did that work out?

Last I heard, that same guy said he built a subway! So take that!

If you skim the Hudak plan you can nod along at the odd point but the details don't hold together. As others have pointed out, it's all about SUBWAYS and maybe some LRT but nothing about how to address local service. I don't think there's any mention of Bus Rapid Transit either, which (being cheap and efficient) you'd think would appeal to a conservative. there's room for more subways in Toronto and even some of the inner suburbs but that's a relatively small part of "Ontario's cities."

The funding plan is a joke. Even if you can find efficiencies and redirect some priorities (sure, ditch all-day kindergarten!), there is NOWHERE where that's how they build out a transit plan. They all have dedicated funding, period. The idea of generating $2B a year through doing that kind of stuff and selling real estate is just absurd. That's a lot of real estate. (That said, the idea of them closing some downtown offices and moving them out to suburbs does make sense in terms of creating live-work communities in the burbs. But then that's undermined by what sounds like a wholesale scrapping of Places to Grow.)

Also, I know it's been a few years at this point but it makes me queasy when I read a PC document that refers to the "Sheppard Stubway." That's part of your party's legacy, Hudak. You were sitting there in Queen's Park and I bet you voted for it.

 

[innsertnamehere]

The subways the Liberals are funding are the only ones that really make sense anyway, maybe the Sherway extension is the only one that works that isn't isn't in their plan. (but thats iffy)

 

[denfromoakvillemilton]

Last I heard, that same guy said he built a subway! So take that!
.....

Also, I know it's been a few years at this point but it makes me queasy when I read a PC document that refers to the "Sheppard Stubway." That's part of your party's legacy, Hudak. You were sitting there in Queen's Park and I bet you voted for it.

He did, he was there for that.

The subways the Liberals are funding are the only ones that really make sense anyway, maybe the Sherway extension is the only one that works that isn't isn't in their plan. (but thats iffy)

IMO they should end that extension at the west mall. I don't think the TTC would support Sherway.

 

[BurlOak]

IMO they should end that extension at the west mall. I don't think the TTC would support Sherway.

If the mall pays, then Sherway can be considered. An extension to 427 is needed to intercept BRT using the highway. The leg to Sherway is much more costly and should only be considered if there is some type of cost sharing.

 

[denfromoakvillemilton]

So now we know how to fund this: Kill the All Day Kindergarten
TORONTO -- Ontario's Progressive Conservatives would freeze implementation of full-day kindergarten and sell off government buildings to help fund public transit, but would not hike taxes, Opposition Leader Tim Hudak said Thursday.

A panel appointed by Premier Kathleen Wynne recommended boosting the gas tax by up to 10 cents a litre to fund expansion of public transit to help ease gridlock in the heavily congested Toronto-to-Hamilton corridor.

Wynne has said she's prepared to campaign on the need for new revenue tools to fund transit, but Hudak said a Tory government would fund subways, buses and infrastructure projects by changing spending priorities and cutting government staff.

Read more: http://kitchener.ctvnews.ca/fund-pu...ay-kindergarten-hudak-1.1600857#ixzz2nzIoIjjo

If the mall pays, then Sherway can be considered. An extension to 427 is needed to intercept BRT using the highway. The leg to Sherway is much more costly and should only be considered if there is some type of cost sharing.

Agreed, besides the would be an unessessary tight turn. We can make Cloverdale/Honeydale a transit checkpoint like Islington, and build condos.

 

[SJD_Toronto]

That right there is what Toronto will ever need for subways for a very long long time. Then you build LRT to complement THIS

If you tell that to Josh Matlow, he'd just say the DRL is the only subway project Toronto ever needs and everything else should be LRT. Haha.

 

[Solid Snake]

So now we know how to fund this: Kill the All Day Kindergarten
TORONTO -- Ontario's Progressive Conservatives would freeze implementation of full-day kindergarten and sell off government buildings to help fund public transit, but would not hike taxes, Opposition Leader Tim Hudak said Thursday.

A panel appointed by Premier Kathleen Wynne recommended boosting the gas tax by up to 10 cents a litre to fund expansion of public transit to help ease gridlock in the heavily congested Toronto-to-Hamilton corridor.

Wynne has said she's prepared to campaign on the need for new revenue tools to fund transit, but Hudak said a Tory government would fund subways, buses and infrastructure projects by changing spending priorities and cutting government staff.

Read more: http://kitchener.ctvnews.ca/fund-pu...ay-kindergarten-hudak-1.1600857#ixzz2nzIoIjjo

All day kindergarten is 1.5B$. 500M$ remaining...

 

[TheTigerMaster]

If you tell that to Josh Matlow, he'd just say the DRL is the only subway project Toronto ever needs and everything else should be LRT. Haha.

What makes you think this?

 

[SJD_Toronto]

What makes you think this?

I was teasing. That, and I'm not much a Matlow fan anymore.

 

[Solid Snake]

While we're not sure how much of the DRL the liberals would build or if it would be in phases, Doug Holiday confirmed this:

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news...ronto-subway-line-if-elected/article16054284/

DRL

Under the TTC’s plan, the relief line would start at Dundas West station, run south to either King or Queen Street, head east across downtown, then swing north to connect with the Danforth subway at Pape before continuing to Don Mills and linking up with the planned Eglinton light rail line.

PC MPP Doug Holyday, who holds the party’s only seat in Toronto, said the Tories would build the entire line if elected.

Mississauga, Scarborough and Richmond Hill Subway

Transit planners have long argued that the relief line is necessary to take pressure off the overcrowded Yonge subway, and a pre-condition to expanding the system further into the suburbs.

Mr. Hudak accepted this thinking. Along with the relief line, he said, he would extend the Bloor-Danforth line north to the Scarborough Town Centre and Sheppard Avenue and bring the Yonge line to Richmond Hill. Where the Mississauga extension would go was unclear.

Suburban LRT

Mr. Hudak has previously said he will cancel currently planned suburban light rail lines to focus entirely on subway expansion. LRTs for which contracts have already been signed, however, he would leave be.

The Eglinton line is currently under construction, while lines on Sheppard and Finch Avenue are due to get underway in the next two years. Lines in Mississauga and Hamilton are also on the books, but are not yet funded.

 

[denfromoakvillemilton]

While we're not sure how much of the DRL the liberals would build or if it would be in phases, Doug Holiday confirmed this:

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news...ronto-subway-line-if-elected/article16054284/

DRL


Mississauga, Scarborough and Richmond Hill Subway


Suburban LRT

No sheppard mccowan...