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The disuxsskm also touched on cnngmtmn in the Greater Toronto and Hamilton Asz and Mr. Hudak outlined his party's plans in get traffic and the economy moving. POUTICS: "Foo many bacbeat drivers: Opposition leader says Mr. Hudak” stopped by the Yeti Region Media Gmup‘s Newnurket office for an edito- rial board meeting oadier this week mdiscuss a wide range of topics. including the upcom- ing pnm‘ncial budge! and health cam As it stands. congestion msts the (“AH an estimated $6 billion annually in lost produc- tivity. At 80 minutes. awarding to Statistics Canada. Toronto's avenge commute time is comidcrcd the worst in North America. Traffic congestion is making ()man'o sick and Pam-$5M] (lonscrvulivc Leader ‘l'im Hudak sayshehasmecum “Ontario's future success is going to depend on the GTA.’ he ' “What's eye-owing is 51 out of every $4 pumwwmnmmtarhbutumadaâ€" corms out of the Greater Tommo and Hamil- ton Area and if this hean of (M's economy isclogged up. itsaneries costingus moreand moreofourtimevexydayawe’llneverget backonourficet. Sowedomcd Ioexpandour transportation.‘ again. off-again Biadfmd bypass and Yong:- Street subway extension to Richmond Hill. BmesandlightraiJuansitMllhavearolc in a PC transponation plan. Mr. Hudak but the emphasis will be on highways and subways. including construction of the on- His party's plan would abo see lheTI‘C‘s subways and U" lines inunporaled under (30 Transit's umbrcfla and the (STA! l‘s crucial commuter corridors. such as Hwys. 400 and 40-! and the Gardiner Rummy. uploaded by the pmvince and mu by transport:- (inn planning body Meuulilw Hudak prescribes PCs to remedy province’s woes *The pnfince‘nceds to seize the wind," Mr. lluQak "Thereth many backseat For ridm 0/ HI: Iludak's t’dtllflal 4 board meo'u‘ng lfllh York Raga»: Media gt) (0 yorkrr- Se U Frequently. the agenda on the ands and W Rebuilding Lives Empowering Abused Women 8: Children s mam? brown! (0 you as a ciommunzrv wrvw U! The" WWW”? ‘un Fnhunr' wmn'diwmg mm BY SEAN PEARCE Since its establishment by the state legislaa mm in 1965. the MTA has continued to expand amlnmserwsanarcaofnwremanSHX) square mila and nearly 15 million residents. his authority has spent about $72 billion dur- ingthe past 23 years to repair and improve’its infi-asrmctureandispoisedtoundergoitsfirst significant expansion in 60 years. expected to cost $22 billion. 11mtbeingsaid.therAalsofacesadebt of about $33 billion. By putting more of the transportation sys- tem under the purview of Metmlinx and (30 'l'ramit (a division of Metmlinx). Mr. Hudak may be moving toward creating a_system sim- ilar to the New York Motmpoiitan Transport» non Authority. whose service area includes New York (lily. bong Island. the southeast por- tion of New York State and part of Connecti- cut. The MTA the region's buses. sub- ways. commuter rat! lines and several W and tunneL‘» 'We'vc killed a lot of trees with all of these reports. but we haven't made a lot of prqgress on laying down roads or rails.” he added. Hamil file is led by local or regional councils. who may not always be looking big picture in terms of establishing an intermgional transâ€" portation netvmrk. he mntinued; Transponation is an important issue and dwdebatemerwhatmbufldamlhowwe payforilisqukklycomingtoahead Metrolinx‘s imesmwmstrategydonnnem isdmbyhmelandisexpmedtoixfludemc- omnwndations for a series of new revenue- generating tools. such as road tolls. parking feesandsalesmxes.0pinions.sofar.onme subject hawbeenmixed. UbemlemierKamleenWynnehasflude theconstmctionrof newtransit and transpor- mfionhfrasuucmreoneofherbigpflofifiea Shchasrepeatedlysaidmeprmdmeneedsto take anion tompaircmmbling infrastructure andbuildbnomonwandwillhavetofinda way to pay for it. 1 The Toronto Region Board ofTYade also retrntly came out in support of establishing new dedicated revenue tools to generate the estimated $34-bllllon Menolinx will need to constmctitsnextwaveofBigMoveprojects The board's discussion paper proposes a l-per-cent regional sales tax. patting space levy of $1 per space. pet day. lOâ€"cent-per-litre regional fuel tax and 30-cent per kilometre roll for single drivers to use higlvoccupancy vehicle lanes If all four we implemented. they could generate more than $4 billion per year. 1.800.263.3247 yellowbfidhousemg Emergency Shelter 905.727.1944 24-hour Crisis Line cannnso 012 month 20,000 comprehensive warranty 0 30 day / 2,000 km exdtange privilege o Readside assistance 0 Car proof vehicle report 0120 point inspection and certification process 0 First Oil change free 0 90 day free trial for XM Radio Stouffville 67 Automall Boulevard (Millard 84 Hwy. 48) 905-888-7777 0 stouffvillehyundaicom Stouffville Hyundai Certified Pre-OWn‘ed OPEN TODAY! STAFF PHOTO/SUSIE KOCKEISCHE '07 (in! «)Ul N sensitive Leader Tum Hudak took part in an edito- rial board meet- ing with York um I unm’uégi: Region Media Group journalists UI