Liberals offer two stories on toll roads

By ROBERT BENZIE

Ontario is open to new road tolls to curb greenhouse gas emissions after the province's environmental commissioner warned even its "modest" climate-change targets would not be achieved.

Stung by Environmental Commissioner Gord Miller's assertion that Ontarians will have to "live our lifestyles differently" to combat global warming, Environment Minister John Gerretsen said the government was prepared to do whatever it takes.

That could include slapping fees on existing public highways.

"We are open to anything that will reduce greenhouse gas emissions," Gerretsen said Tuesday after Miller's 38-page report on the prov- ince's shortcomings in reaching by 2020 its goal of a 15 per cent reduction in greenhouse gas emissions below 1990 levels.

An environment ministry progress report released last week found the province has initiatives in place to achieve 56 per cent of that target.

"Obviously other ministries will have to be involved and we'll have to speak to (the Ministry of Transportation) and develop a plan so we can meet those targets," he said.

But moments after Gerretsen spoke, Transportation Minister Jim Bradley insisted: "We have no plans to implement road tolls on existing highways."

Bradley did say there would be levies to drive on a planned publicly owned eastern extension of the privately owned Highway 407 toll highway.

"I think (Gerretsen) was talking about the future – he was probably talking about the 407 east," he said.

"I can't speculate about the future, but I do know ... there will be no tolls on existing highways in the province of Ontario."