Tim Hudak’s transit grandstanding was a political move—but not a good one

8 thoughts on “Tim Hudak’s transit grandstanding was a political move—but not a good one”

1. As my 15 year old daughter would say, Hudak is such as nOOb. Like what a complete waste of time….

2. Mr Hudak, why dont you sit down and keep quiet. You’re credibility on the transit file has been shredded. In the ’11 election, you made no reference to transit anywhere on your platform other than “vague” promises for infrastructure. Also Mr Hudak voted with his party to cancel the Eglinton West line in ’95.

   To all those pro-subway people just STOP. Just STOP! If you dont want to increase density, endure years of construciton and pay for the costs of construciton and operation then you have no right to debate this topic.

3. Agreed this was a bad move on his part – but citing a Star columnist who has bad things to say about Hudak is perhaps the most self-evident piece of journalism one could imagine.

   The voters (I hope) will remember this. There’s absolutely no consistency with his with his position on municipal rights. But noting the 1995 decision to scrap the Eg West line is both silly and naive. First – the average voter doesn’t know or care what happened in 1995. It’s of absolutely no consequence.

   Second, whether we agree with the postion or not – it’s dangerous to get in the habit of forcing people to maintain their positions over 20 years. Facts change, and thoughtful people (and politicians)should change with them. Sadly, that’s not even close to the case in this instance.

4. That’s true, Michael. The Toronto Star is a biased communist rag that has no business being quoted in a reputable editorial piece. For more accurate and fair reporting, I suggest the Toronto Sun:

   “When Eglinton is torn up and delays begin on the new LRT line — because the TTC never gets anything done on time or budget — it will all fall on Ms. Shameless Backstabber’s back, er, head.”

   It shouldn’t surprise people that Conservatives are now in favour of building a subway to Scarborough. People in the suburbs have large houses, big yards, lower costs of living – but with gas prices rising, they now need the subways that cramped downtown apartment/condo dwellers enjoy. Even though there will be far fewer riders on any subway in the suburbs, well, that’s fitting, isn’t it? A nice roomy subway, just like the Sheppard line!

   Anyways, there’s probably no money for this, so the harder the left fights against it, the better us conservatives look. As Nelson Muntz would say, Ha Ha.

5. Another strike against Hudak and conservatives in politicizing a decision that has already been made based on years of study by independent experts ! He makes absolutely NO mention of this in the previous election and now wades in by stating that the ford brothers should ignore the electorate – the very same electorate he is trying to win, and push forward with a subway. Why is this debate still happening?!? AND more importantly, why is our money being wasted. Suburbanites – YOU WILL BE THE ONES FUNDING THIS SUBWAY THROUGH TOLLS AS YOU CONTINUE TO DRIVE INTO THE CITY. YOU COMMUTE WILL COST YOU MORE ! see the light, this money does not just materializes from no where. The ford brothers promised $1 BILLION dollars by making the city more efficient – HAVE THEY DELIVERED ? If it was that easy, do you not think it would have happened by now ? They are clearing distracting the city with this mindless, pointless, silly debate AND WE ARE ALL THE VICTIMS !

6. Michael, while I generlly agree with the view that one should be forced to hold true to views once professed 20 years ago – after all, its reasonable for someone to change their mind over time, in the case of Hudak, I think its fair to say that this change of heart on subways has nothing to do with seeing the light and everything to do with the cheap politics of pandering to the pro-Ford crowd, the same strategy he engaged in during the last election.

   Let’s look at the facts:

   1. He never once touted any grand plan for subways during the last provincial election.

   2. Despite jumping on the subways bandwagon, he doesn’t propose to offer one red nickel to pay for it. – he’s sticking to the 8B already allocated, which would all be used to bury Eglinton if Ford and his gang get their way. In other words, he’s following the mantra of demanding subways be built without any idea of how (or more importantly who) is going to pay for it.

   3. He’s also jumped on the bandwagon of government spending too much money it doesn’t have. At the same time, as a Conservative, he would NEVER advocate for new taxes or “revenue tools”, especially if they would impact suburban voters disproportionately (which they would).

   4. Engaging in “bandwagon” politics has been Hudak’s entire mode of operating since he became the Tory leader, and given how late he’s decided to join this “debate”, I have no reason to believe that anything has changed in that regard.

   This is lame, cheap politics at its finest, which does nothing to advance the debate. And it should be a debate, because behind the rhetoric, I have yet to hear anyone on the “subways only” side be truly honest about what it will take to get those subways built (i.e. revenue tools, aka taxes and user fees). They keep touting these mystical “private sector” fixes – it’s all crap. Developers aren’t paying for this subway and neither is a Casino (it’ll help, but it won’t foot the bill). This isn’t about downtown vs suburbs, or left vs right. This is about making the best use of limited resources, and until the “subways only” crowd is willing to honestly address the cost issue, their arguments can’t and won’t hold up.

7. sorry – correction in my first paragraph – I meant to say should NOT be forced to hold to their views from 20 years ago.

8. “This is about making the best use of limited resources, and until the “subways only” crowd is willing to honestly address the cost issue, their arguments can’t and won’t hold up.”

   Actually it’s about ensuring an election victory for Rob Ford by driving a nice fat wedge between those greedy, penny-pinching, subway-loving downtowners, and the friendly, generous, under-appreciated and under-serviced suburbanites.

   No east/west subway line will be built any time soon, but it’s the principle of the thing for Scarboroughians – a non-existent subway is considered better than a fully functioning LRT line, even if it’s a more cost-effective, efficient and easily built transit plan. The People would rather know that Ford is fighting for their spacious subway system, even if it means cramming themselves on buses for the next 30-50+ years.

   Speaking of which, we should cut back on buses, as they often interfere with my commute.

Comments are closed.