{"id":9664,"date":"2010-03-01T12:36:20","date_gmt":"2010-03-01T17:36:20","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/spacingtoronto.ca\/?p=9664"},"modified":"2013-01-21T15:06:39","modified_gmt":"2013-01-21T20:06:39","slug":"lorinc-parsing-caplans-ttc-essential-service-bill","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/spacing.ca\/toronto\/2010\/03\/01\/lorinc-parsing-caplans-ttc-essential-service-bill\/","title":{"rendered":"LORINC: Parsing Caplan’s TTC essential service bill"},"content":{"rendered":"

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From what I can glean, there are three competing explanations for what former Liberal health minister David Caplan was up to last week when he introduced a private member’s bill that would declare the TTC an essential service.<\/p>\n

Let’s quickly dispense with the loose cannon version. Premier Dalton McGuinty has always run a tight ship, and it’s inconceivable that a member of his caucus could introduce a private member’s bill – especially one that addressed the jurisdiction of a senior minister – without a vetting process from the central command. Indeed, as a well-placed Liberal source assured me, “This was planned.”<\/p>\n

What the move sought to accomplish, however, remains the subject of much speculation.<\/p>\n

Theory A<\/strong>: A shot of electoral ginseng for George Smitherman.<\/p>\n

After Caplan tabled the bill and transportation minister Kathleen Wynne declared it a non-starter, the premier said in the legislature that it’s an important issue for the mayoral race. Smitherman – who hasn’t been quick off the draw with anything so far in this race – had a statement of support all teed up and ready to go:<\/p>\n

“I want to applaud David Caplan’s Private Members’ Bill as it reflects an appropriate source of concern about the cost of a TTC strike to the city and commuters – there can be no doubt that work stoppages cause a huge disruption. I look forward to the debate continuing in the Legislature – including a full committee hearing with public consultations. Based on the outcome of that debate, we can have a fulsome discussion about the options the city might have in the future.”<\/p>\n

In other words, he’s marking territory among right-of-centre voters.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Caplan’s move, tellingly, flummoxed Rocco Rossi’s team, forcing the candidate into the ironic position of agreeing with Mayor David Miller. Both said they opposed the move for economic reasons, arguing that arbitration rules tend to drive up settlement costs for essential service workers. They’re right, of course, but Mr. and Mrs. Fed-up Commuter may be more willing to back a candidate who appears to have the cajones to stand up to transit workers. (Hey, Mildred, did you know that Rossi fella’ was a friggin’ union-lover?)<\/p>\n

Theory B<\/strong>: Payback for Miller on matters budgetary.<\/p>\n

When Miller and budget chief Shelley Carroll unveiled the 2010 operating budget two weeks ago, it included a pair of significant political faux-pas.<\/p>\n

1. An admission — there in on page 10 of the briefing document — that the City had explicitly violated the Liberal’s “Investing in Ontario Act<\/a>” (2008) by taking the $238 million it received under the law as Toronto’s share of the provincial surplus and using those funds to reduce the 2009 operating shortfall. The Act clearly states that such monies are to be used for “capital purposes,” although the province left it up to the municipalities to decide which ones.<\/p>\n

2. A declaration that the City and Queen’s Park must conclude a “Toronto-Ontario partnership agreement on permanent, sustainable operating funding by December 1, 2010,” i.e., Miller’s last day in office. In effect, Miller wants to go out on a high note by re-instating Bill Davis’ transit policy, which saw the city and the province divide the TTC’s operating shortfall. The mayor has pushe this rock up the hill for seven years; a 50-50 split these days is worth $250 million annually.<\/p>\n

But here’s the thing: generally speaking, the city shouldn’t behave like it’s got the province over a barrel, but especially not when it is openly contravening a piece of legislation that seeks to ease the financial burden on property taxpayers without handcuffing municipal councils. Miller and Carroll forced Queen’s Park into a corner.<\/p>\n

What were the Liberals to do — sue?<\/p>\n

Indeed, McGuinty had little choice but to assert his authority. He promptly shot down Miller’s timeline, and perhaps it was no coincidence that the essential service bill materialized only a few days later. After all, Miller is philosophically opposed to removing a union’s right to strike. This was a warning.<\/p>\n

Theory C<\/strong>: Another step in the slow-motion upload of the TTC to Metrolinx.<\/p>\n

Caplan’s bill succeeded in further driving down the TTC’s stock by reminding voters about the horror of transit strikes and raising additional questions about how the agency is managed. Even more importantly, it allowed the premier to publicly signal the future mayor that the province is thinking deeply about the future of the TTC and, by implication, its relationship to Metrolinx, the transit authority that runs GO and regional transportation planning.<\/p>\n

Evidence? Last summer, the province relieved the TTC of the responsibility of developing the new Transit City lines, assigning Metrolinx to build and own them. More recently, John Broadhead, a senior infrastructure advisor to the premier moved over to Metrolinx to oversee strategic planning and communications.<\/p>\n

Does Metrolinx’s methodical foray into the TTC’s business end there? Unlikely. In the near future, Metrolinx is going to impose its will on the TTC about implementing Presto, the long-awaited GTA-wide smart card. And if the province does consummate a deficit-splitting deal with the city, it’s almost certain the cash will come with strings, such as a seat or two for Metrolinx on the TTC board.<\/p>\n

As for the labour relations piece, McGuinty & Co. might be looking to eliminate the threat of TTC strikes as a pre-condition to an eventual Metrolinx takeover. That way, Queen’s Park can assure GTA commuters that they needn’t fear paralyzing strikes as a quid pro quo for asking them to fork over more cash (road tolls, parking lot levies, etc.) to underwrite the costly transit projects envisioned in Metrolinx’s Big Move plan<\/a>, approved in November, 2008.<\/p>\n

So take your pick. Either way, it is that much more evidence that this election is going to be all about the TTC.<\/p>\n

photo by Scott Snider <\/a><\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

From what I can glean, there are three competing explanations for what former Liberal health minister David Caplan was up to last week when he introduced a private member’s bill that would declare the TTC an essential service. Let’s quickly dispense with the loose cannon version. Premier Dalton McGuinty has always run a tight ship,Continue reading “LORINC: Parsing Caplan’s TTC essential service bill”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4051,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"_ef_editorial_meta_paragraph_assignment":"","_ef_editorial_meta_date_first-draft-date":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_needs-photo":"","_ef_editorial_meta_number_word-count":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[2,8],"tags":[94,14466,14463,2300,2211,3216,6917,425,13129,6245,1952,6244,14461,8856,14465,426,14467,8533,636,2306,316,44,10726,7893,14464,14462,1276,3860,19,849,625,391],"class_list":["post-9664","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-politics","category-transit","tag-2010-election","tag-big-move","tag-bill-and-transportation-minister","tag-bill-davis","tag-chief","tag-dalton-mcguinty","tag-david-caplan","tag-david-miller","tag-future-mayor","tag-george-smitherman","tag-gta","tag-health-minister","tag-john-broadhead","tag-kathleen-wynne","tag-liberal-health-minister","tag-mayor","tag-mcguinty-co","tag-metrolinx","tag-ontario","tag-premier","tag-queen","tag-queens-park","tag-rocco-rossi","tag-scott-snider","tag-senior-infrastructure-advisor","tag-senior-minister","tag-shelley-carroll","tag-smart-card","tag-toronto","tag-transportation","tag-us-federal-reserve","tag-usd"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nLORINC: Parsing Caplan's TTC essential service bill - Spacing Toronto<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/spacing.ca\/toronto\/2010\/03\/01\/lorinc-parsing-caplans-ttc-essential-service-bill\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"LORINC: Parsing Caplan's TTC essential service bill - Spacing Toronto\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"From what I can glean, there are three competing explanations for what former Liberal health minister David Caplan was up to last week when he introduced a private member’s bill that would declare the TTC an essential service. 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