Recently I wrote “as Toronto’s prosperity goes so too does the province’s prosperity go” commenting that “…their fates are so completely entwined with each other that policy coordination between them on the matter of cities” is “a matter of competitive necessity.” I should have added politically expedient too!
Ontario’s Premier McGintty’s recent announcement of a pre-election pledge of $17. billion for GTA transit expansion is what I believe the first fledgling steps in a process that will eventually see all level of governments co-ordinating policy on transit and many other issues. Not as in today with each level trying to win more political capital then the other with each announcement, but more in a lock-step, win-win capacity.
As gridlock and other issues would surely overwhelm us if nothing were done, the new political mantra is going to be your problems are my problems! So ironically, as our problems get bigger and the room for manoeuvre gets smaller, in ten years or so we are going to see governments behaving very differently in the level of inter-governmental co-ordination they being to the table. A “nice to” will be matter of competitive necessity in more ways then one.
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