The government has “lost momentum” on climate change, Environment Commissioner Gord Miller said Monday as he released his annual greenhouse gas progress report at Queen’s Park.

“They’ve been overwhelmed by other events,” Miller told reporters. Urgent action is needed now to limit emissions and that could include “road pricing,” such as tolls to force people to take public transit, Miller said. “We have to face up to the fact that the roads in the GTA are plugged, millions more people are coming and transportation emissions are the major source of (greenhouse gas) in our society,” he said.

Road pricing works elsewhere and “we should take a serious look” at it to support much needed transit expansion, Miller said. The government’s recent move to stall $4 billion in GTA transit funding was a mistake, he added. “It sends the wrong signal.”

Transportation Minister Kathleen Wynne did not rule out road tolls as a possible future solution, saying Ontario citizens need to have an “intelligent conversation” about transit funding.

Toronto mayoral candidates George Smitherman and Rocco Rossi both oppose road tolls to fund transit but candidate Sarah Thomson supports them.

Progressive Conservative Leader Tim Hudak says the last thing Ontario residents need is to pay more taxes. “Families are paying enough taxes as it is,” he said and pointed out Ontarians will celebrate Canada Day with the introduction of the blended 13 per cent harmonized sales tax.

“The notion of slapping down tolls on roads we have already paid for through taxes and the gas tax — that’s a non-starter with the PC Party,” Hudak said.

Even NDP Leader Andrea Horwath said she wouldn’t support road tolls. “We think there are more important places to make real change — that includes the fact we continue to dig up farm land for more subdivisions when we should use built infrastructure we have,” she said.

The government is also pulling back $4 billion in transit funding and taxing bicycle use by 8 per cent with the HST. The HST is a blend of the 8 per cent provincial with the 5 per cent federal GST. While most goods won’t increase in price due to the HST, others will.

Wynne said the government has no intention of introducing road tolls at this point.

But she said it is waiting for its Metrolinx regional transit agency to come up with a plan on how to make investments in transit infrastructure as road congestion worsens. That plan is due by June 2013 and “final decisions” will come after that, she said.

“It would be disingenuous of me to say that we’re going to close our ears to the conversation of how to fund public transit infrastructure over the next generation. I think that would be irresponsible.”

Besides tolls, the report suggests creating a zone system in cities where drivers pay a fee to enter a congested area. London, England has a congestion-fee zone system.

And, Miller’s report adds it is time to discuss putting a price on carbon by undertaking a formal review to compare the merits of emissions trading and a carbon tax.

With files from Rob Ferguson