Maybe I'm just stupid but this doesn't make sense to me

There's a distinct possibility that I'm stupid.

You see, I thought constructing, maintaining and managing transportation infrastructure — highways and the like — was part of the reason we invented governments. I thought part of that infrastructure included publicly funded transportation systems to move people and freight around the province quickly and efficiently.

Funding public transportation systems makes economic sense. It's a generally safer way to travel. It helps minimize greenhouse gas emissions. And it's generally a cheaper way of moving resources to production centres and goods to market.

Premier Kathleen Wynne thinks so. Last April, she announced the Moving Ontario Forward plan, a $31.5-billion promise to modernize that transportation infrastructure in Ontario.

GO Transit's share of that is $16 billion to improve the speed and frequency of GO train trips in the GTA, looking to go from 1,500 trips a week to 6,000 in five years. GO Transit's more than 60 million rides fund 80 to 85 per cent of its operating costs. Still, last year the province kicked in the $160 million GO needed to make up the difference. The subsidy makes sense. Public transportation is important.

With the population of southern Ontario continually growing, getting more cars off the road should be a priority. State-of-the-art public transit that's easy and convenient and fast as hell is a necessity, no doubt about it.

Here's the thing though. While GO Transit gets billions for development and millions in subsidies, GO Transit's sister agency, responsible for public transportation in Northern Ontario, has had to fight for decades to stay afloat.

I've covered news in the North for 16 years. In that time, I've reported on nearly every route cancellation, fight for funds, latest government scheme, and faint glimmer of hope when it comes to Ontario Northland. I used to know the names of the commission members for goodness sake.

And I've watched first a Conservative government then a Liberal government make its services so inconvenient that people who needed to couldn't rely on it.

Ontario Northland's latest battle for existence began in 2012. That year, it received $103 million in provincial subsidies, which included funding for its telecommunications arm, Ontera (sold to Bell Alliant in 2014 for $6 million, taking a $61-million loss in the process – not kidding, look it up).

That was the same year the Liberals decided Ontario Northland wasn't worth the expense and said they were selling it off. Rick Bartolucci was Northern Development minister at the time. He said the province needed to shovel that $103 million into the hole of Ontario's projected $16-billion deficit.

The government eventually backed off. Instead, they added a few bus routes, killed the Northlander passenger train and sold off Ontera. But Ontario Northland is still fighting for life.

I can't understand why this necessary service for Northern Ontarians (not to mention the jobs it provides to northerners) always seems to have a target on its back. Need proof? Look at a couple of the more recent decisions.

That sale of Ontera? Besides losing its $61-million value, the government spent $6.5 million to get advice on whether to sell it, but only got $6 million for the sale. You only do something that daft when you're playing poker with someone else's money.

Or try to wrap your head around this one. Ontario Northland pays half a million dollars a year in fees to use GO Transit terminals in southern Ontario — even though they're both provincial agencies.

Put another way, it's like a married couple with a joint bank account, but one member of the relationship has to pay the other for the privilege of sleeping in the marital bed. So one spouse withdraws money to pay the fee to the other spouse, who then deposits that money right back into the joint account.

Put yet another way, the ONTC is like a stray cat at Queen's Park – politicians feel somewhat responsible for it, so they throw a few scraps its way, but if it disappeared tomorrow, it really wouldn't be missed.

Ontario Northland was created to open up the North to development. That job isn't done.

I don't understand why Northern Ontario is supposed to be grateful for receiving second-class service. We shouldn't be expected to settle. Perhaps I'm mistaken, but shouldn't there be just one agency responsible for public transportation in this province, providing a comparable level of service across Ontario?

Why does GO Transit get to snuggle up by the fire, while Ontario Northland is left out in the cold?

To me, a single transportation agency just makes sense. Then again, maybe I'm stupid.

Mark Gentili is the managing editor of Northern Life and NorthernLife.ca.