This is a joke of a policy…

This is a joke of a policy proposal in so many respects. Not only is the government willfully ignoring the existing evidence and the democratic will of Toronto council, it is also doing so at the taxpayer's expense. This is supposed to be the fiscally responsible government? We spent enough money to install the bike lanes, why should we waste more money to tear them back out? And who will pay for the government's legal fees when they inevitably get sued over this legislation?

Bike lanes save people's lives, reduce conflict between cars and cyclists and promote a healthy, viable alternative transportation option for people who don't own cars. My first suggestion to the government is to leave it up to the democratically elected municipal council to determine what is best for its citizens. I'm sorry you didn't win the mayoral election in 2014, Mr. Premier, but you shouldn't be legislating for Toronto from Queen's Park. My second suggestion is to pursue evidence based policies that will actually improve people's travel times. (Commissioning a study about digging a hole under the 401 and then telling us that you're planning to do it regardless of the study doesn't count). We need more transit, we need streamlined approvals to build medium- and high-rise housing in dense, transit-serviced neighbourhoods, and we need actual enforcement of our existing transportation rules.

Bill 212 does none of this and is a waste of everyone's time and money on some manufactured culture wars issue.