'Property taxes shouldn't pay for provincial highways': Ottawa mayor supports calls to upload Hwy. 174 to the province
Mayor Jim Watson is onboard with calls for the Ontario government to take over the responsibility of Regional Road 174 from the city of Ottawa.
Coun. Catherine Kitts will introduce a motion at Wednesday's transportation committee meeting, asking the mayor to write Premier Doug Ford in support of a Private Member's Bill to upload Highway 174 back to the province.
"I think it's a great move," said Watson, when asked on Newstalk 580 CFRA if he supports the calls for Ontario to take over responsibility of the highway in Ottawa's east end.
"This goes back to the Mike Harris days when they downloaded a lot of different responsibilities, including Highway 174. For all intense purposes, as you know, that road is a highway but it was downloaded and now Ottawa taxpayers have to take responsibility for repairing it, snowplowing it and so on."
Last month, Orléans MPP Stephen Blais introduced the Uploading Highways 174 and 17 Act, which would return both roads to provincial jurisdiction after having been downloaded to the municipalities by the Progressive Conservative government in the 1990s.
Kitts' motion recommends the transportation committee direct the mayor to write to Ford in support of Blais' private member's bill, "on the condition that the transfer not take place until after the completion of Stage 2 east extension to Trim Road."
Stage 2 of Ottawa's light rail transit project extends the LRT from Blair station to Trim Road along the median of Highway 174.
Kitts also proposes Watson write to Transportation Minister Caroline Mulroney that if Bill 22 is approved and Ontario uploads responsibility of Hwy. 174, "the first priority for OR 174 be the planning, design, and construction of the Trim Road Park and Ride parkade."
Watson says it's time for the province to cover the costs of Regional 174.
"Property taxes shouldn't pay for provincial highways," said Watson.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Quebec nurse had to clean up after husband's death in Montreal hospital
On a night she should have been mourning, a nurse from Quebec's Laurentians region says she was forced to clean up her husband after he died at a hospital in Montreal.
Northern Ont. lawyer who abandoned clients in child protection cases disbarred
A North Bay, Ont., lawyer who abandoned 15 clients – many of them child protection cases – has lost his licence to practise law.
Bank of Canada officials split on when to start cutting interest rates
Members of the Bank of Canada's governing council were split on how long the central bank should wait before it starts cutting interest rates when they met earlier this month.
Maple Leafs fall to Bruins in Game 3, trail series 2-1
Brad Marchand scored twice, including the winner in the third period, and added an assist as the Boston Bruins downed the Toronto Maple Leafs 4-2 to take a 2-1 lead in their first-round playoff series Wednesday
Cuban government apologizes to Montreal-area family after delivering wrong body
Cuba's foreign affairs minister has apologized to a Montreal-area family after they were sent the wrong body following the death of a loved one.
'It was instant karma': Viral video captures failed theft attempt in Nanaimo, B.C.
Mounties in Nanaimo, B.C., say two late-night revellers are lucky their allegedly drunken antics weren't reported to police after security cameras captured the men trying to steal a heavy sign from a downtown business.
What is changing about Canada's capital gains tax and how does it impact me?
The federal government's proposed change to capital gains taxation is expected to increase taxes on investments and mainly affect wealthy Canadians and businesses. Here's what you need to know about the move.
New Indigenous loan guarantee program a 'really big deal,' Freeland says at Toronto conference
Canada's Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland was among the 1,700 delegates attending the two-day First Nations Major Projects Coalition (FNMPC) conference that concluded Tuesday in Toronto.
'Life was not fair to him': Daughter of N.B. man exonerated of murder remembers him as a kind soul
The daughter of a New Brunswick man recently exonerated from murder, is remembering her father as somebody who, despite a wrongful conviction, never became bitter or angry.