The trucking industry is not alone in its criticism of Metrolinx's Big Move plan to fund transit in the Toronto and Hamilton regions.
The Canadian Federation of Independent Business (CFIB) has released survey results that paint a picture of widespread dissatisfaction with the plan among business owners.
The Big Move would introduce numerous fees to raise $50 billion that would be used to cut down on traffic gridlock. However, the CFIB survey found that 84% of respondents want to see existing taxes and fees better used to fund these initiatives.
"Taxpayers aren't buying the argument that hiking taxes is the only solution to reducing gridlock on our roads and highways," said CFIB's president, Dan Kelly. "While some on Bay Street might be perfectly fine with paying more, the majority of Ontarians who rely on Main Street for their livelihood want the Wynne government to send Metrolinx back to the drawing board."
Survey respondents were not supportive of the increased fuel taxes (85% opposed) or commercial parking taxes (68% opposed) included in the plan.
"Small businesses have a strong interest in seeing the bottlenecks on the 401 or 403 removed," said CFIB's Ontario director, Plamen Petkov. "If people can't move, goods and services can't either. But, the message in these survey results is clear, let's not fix one problem by swapping it for another - bringing the economy to a screeching halt."
