montreal opposition's report argues against tripling of car registration fee
ensemble montréal says the city paid 37 per cent of the cost of transit back in 2008, but now it's closer to 24 per cent.
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montreal opposition member laurent desbois says some parts of montreal like pierrefonds, rivière-des-prairies and Île bizard are served very poorly by the transit network.
graham hughes
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montreal gazette files
calling it hasty and drastic, montreal’s opposition says the mayor must axe the proposed increase in registration fees, which take effect next year.
last may, the montreal metropolitan community, over which montreal mayor valérie plante presides, approved new rates that will nearly triple the rate that drivers pay to fund public transit from $59 to $150 on their annual car registration renewals. the hope is that the new rates will help alleviate a funding crisis within the transit network.
the cmm noted that municipalities and public transit users have reached their maximum contributions, while motorists’ registration tax hasn’t increased since 2011.
however, the opposition disagreed with that assessment, claiming the city of montreal’s actual contribution to transit hasn’t kept up with its overall increase in expenditures.
on thursday, the opposition ensemble montréal submitted a minority report to the city’s finance committee as part of pre-budgetary consultations, of which the gazette obtained a copy. it calls for the city to increase its own contribution for public transit, saying the city paid 37 per cent of the cost of transit back in 2008, but now that level is closer to 24 per cent. it said the city should at least finance one third of the cost of transit, which would require an increase in the annual contribution by about $100 million. the report noted that the city’s expenses have increased by 27 per cent since 2018, while its transit expenses have only increased by about 19 per cent.
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speaking for the opposition, laurent desbois, who is also the mayor of outremont, said it’s unfair to ask residents to take on such an increase without the city also doing its share.
he noted that some parts of montreal like pierrefonds, rivière-des-prairies and île bizard are served very poorly by the actual transit network.
“they have little access to public transit,” desbois said. “we’re holding these citizens hostage, because there is little that they can do. i think about 28 per cent of people on the island don’t have access to appropriate transit.”
the mmc’s decision to increase registration fees came after a disagreement between the city and province on how to finance the structural deficit of transit networks, which have been struggling with decreased ridership and the resulting revenues since the pandemic began. the province has pledged $200 million for 2024, while the deficit is estimated at about $400 million.
desbois said he’s not opposed to increasing the share that drivers pay for transit, but he thinks the increase should only be $45, rather than the planned $91.
“we think that drivers should pay part (of the deficit) but not all of it,” he said. “and we think there is space for the city to increase its share without increasing taxes.”
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the report also calls for the city to increase the parking rates at its nature parks, and that corporations come up with plans to encourage their employees to take transit to work.
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