TORONTO, ON: The Canadian Taxpayers Federation (CTF) is calling on the Premier to halt plans to turn the unpopular Pan Am Games high occupancy vehicle (HOV) lanes into a permanent part of Ontario highways.

The HOV lanes, which have disrupted traffic across Toronto and drawn a significant amount of criticism, are currently planned to be removed after the Pan Am Games end in August. However, Premier Wynne has announced that she wants to apply “lessons learned” from the HOV Lanes to creating toll lanes. (HOV lane Geoffrey Gilmour-Taylor/Flickr)

“The HOV lanes set up for the Pan Am Games brought traffic to a standstill and added hours to commutes for people across Toronto,” said CTF Ontario Director Christine Van Geyn. “Premier Wynne’s idea of making these lanes a permanent fixture, and charging a toll on top, is nothing more than a money grab.”

The Premier stated that she wants to use the revenue from any tolls established to fund her $130 billion infrastructure spending program. International credit rating agency Standard and Poor’s cited this planned spending as a reason for Ontario’s recent credit downgrade.

“The Premier’s proposal to make these HOV lanes a permanent toll is a new way of squeezing even more money out of the people of Ontario. Ontarians simply cannot afford to pay even more. Wynne needs to cut spending and get her hands out of drivers pockets,” concluded Van Geyn.