Re: A balancing act, a slash or a re-think

- by John Tamming

David McLeish makes a lot of solid points. But for the record, my past calls to slash police spending were specifically tied to a shift away from officers and towards front line social and medical workers. I repeatedly and publicly said we need less uniforms and guns, more windbreakers and mental health interventions. As I also stressed, places such as Eugene, Oregon have had tremendous success along these lines.

McLeish wants us to explore drive share programs. I agree fully. My (failed) motion to cut transit specifically referenced the possible use of Uber. Innisfil went this route several years ago, with that town kicking in some funds to lower the cost of Uber rides within its boundaries. They did that in place of a transit system. To my knowledge, our city has never even approached Uber along these lines.

Finally, contrary to what Mr. McLeish asserts, I have at no time relied on post-Covid ridership numbers. I agree with Mr. McLeish that any ridership statistics derived during the pandemic (that is, 2020 and later) are not reliable. The fact is that annual ridership has plunged from 300,000 to 200,000 from 2010 to 2019. If some residents believe that a 50% annual hike in transit costs is sustainable, they and this councillor will have to respectfully disagree.