The Ford government says it has been “in conversation” with the owners of Highway 407 as calls grow for the province to either buy back the route or subsidize truck tolls to move transport vehicles off Highway 401.
A spokesperson for the minister of transportation told Global News conversations had taken place but didn’t say what the government was considering or how far it had gone in its discussions with the privately-operated toll highway.
“We will continue to find ways to make life more affordable for Ontarians and ensure they can get where they need to go every day,” they said.
“We have been in conversation with the 407 and will continue to work with our partners as we find new ways to keep our roads and economy moving.”
The operators of the tolled highway told Global News on Nov. 8 that the government had “not engaged in any discussions with us regarding a potential sale of the 407 ETR.”
The highway’s operators, however, were less clear when about whether conversations had taken place about subsidizing the tolls of trucks on the highway.
Asked several times if subsidy talks had taken place, a spokesperson refused to confirm or deny potential conversations.
“As part of our regular course of engagement with the government, we continue to explore opportunities to alleviate congestion across the region,” the spokesperson said on Nov. 8.
The focus on Highway 407 comes as the Ontario NDP pitches subsidizing the cost of trucks running on the route as a potential solution to gridlock, suggesting it would remove them from Highway 401 and free up much-needed capacity.
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Premier Doug Ford outlined his solution to Highway 401 gridlock in September, pledging to tunnel a second expressway below the route.
The premier also suggested at the time that he had considered buying back Highway 407, which was leased out to a private operator in 1999.
“We’ve thought of that as well,” Ford said in an interview at the end of September. “Previous government sold it off for $2.3 billion, which was the biggest mistake I’ve ever seen.”
Ford claimed that Highway 407 is now “worth approximately $35 billion” but said the government decided not to fork out to buy it back because of studies completed internally suggesting “all the 400 series highways are going to be at full capacity” in the next quarter-century.
Later, at the beginning of November, Transportation Minister Prabmeet Sarkaria refused to be drawn on whether or not any work had taken place to work out how much buying the route back would cost or how it might work.
Asked about the plan again this week during question period, Sarkaria was evasive, instead touting affordability measures introduced by the government relating to transit and driving.
“We’ve removed $125 sticker fees off of vehicles and trucks as well, because we know that that money is better with the people of this province and not with the government,” Sarkaria said on Tuesday in response to questions from the NDP about Highway 407 tolls rising.
“It’s about putting more money back into your pocket.”
At the same time, pressure for the government to take action on Highway 407 could be growing from a new area, as a pair of municipal councillors request a study of the cost of buying back the route — or a one-year toll subsidy pilot.
Vaughan Coun. Marilyn Iafrate, backed by Coun. Rosanna DeFrancesca, plans to introduce a local council motion next week offering its support to the idea of the government studying a 407 buyback plan or implementing the one-year subsidy pilot.
“I’m not the only one — most people in the GTA don’t care what you do or how you do it, just free it up, open it up, reduce those tolls, remove those tolls,” Iafrate said.
“I know that the proper of undertaking this is doing a feasibility. So given the premier has mentioned over and over again that he’s open to that, I want him to know that we suppose that. And I want this motion to go to all the municipalities along the 407 because I would think they’re thinking like we are. Their residents are being gouged on that highway.”