Liberals, NDP stress transit promises after Ford pledges gas price cut

Ontario NDP Leader Andrea Horwath and Liberal Premier Kathleen Wynne touted transit promises today, a day after Doug Ford promised to help drivers by cutting gas prices by 10 cents a litre.

The Progressive Conservative leader said he would cut gas prices by reducing the provincial gas tax and scrapping the cap-and-trade program that puts a price on carbon.

Speaking in Ottawa, Wynne said most people wouldn't "feel" the impact of that because gas prices fluctuate wildly and largely due to global forces. She added that, because municipalities rely on funds generated by the provincial fuel tax to pay for transit infrastructure, Ford's commitment is a "short-sighted, bad idea.

"There's a direct connection between the ability to invest in transit and transportation and the gas tax. That's a reality, that's where that money goes," Wynne said.

"What he's doing is putting at risk transit projects that people need everyday in their lives that are long overdue."

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Wynne, whose Liberal government poured billions into transit infrastructure, says it's important to get to the point where it's easier to take transit than to get in the car.

Horwath spoke about how an NDP government would fund half of the operating costs of municipal transit.

She highlighted her Toronto-focused promises outside a subway station, saying she would also prioritize building a downtown relief line to relieve subway overcrowding.

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