Doug Ford says Toronto should adopt ‘lean practices’ to deal with funding shortfall
Ontario Premier Doug Ford said Toronto can’t continue to go to other governments “hat in hand” asking for funding as the city grapples with a more than $900-million shortfall of cash due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The comments were made at an announcement in Hamilton, Ont., where the premier was re-announcing a 2023 budget commitment to hire more nurses.
When asked about the shortfall, Ford said officials should be “driving efficiencies” and “focusing on lean practices.”
“They can't just go there and think the taxpayer is going to constantly bail him out no matter if it's the municipal, provincial or federal government,” he said. “They have to start treating Toronto like they're spending their own money, then we'll see a big change.”
Toronto officials said earlier this week that significant cuts to services and state-of-good repair work may be necessary in 2024 after both the federal government and the province refused to inject significant funds into municipalities.
Speaking to reporters ahead of the April city council meeting, Deputy Mayor Jennifer McKelvie said Toronto was still “very much in the mode of recovery” following the pandemic.
“You’re going to see those cuts rapidly happen in 2024,” she said.
“If we don’t get assistance, we are able to use the reserves we’ve squirreled away to pay for this year. But it’s not a good strategy…it’s like taking out your RRSPs to pay your mortgage, or to pay your groceries. It’s not sustainable.”
Without aide from other governments, the city is looking at a nearly $1 billion shortfall. McKelvie suggested the city could make up some of that revenue by raising property taxes.
The city also has to take a freezing of development fees into consideration when addressing budgetary concerns. As part of Ford’s housing strategy, some development charges—which are collected by cities to help pay for the cost of municipal services or infrastructure such as roads and transit—will be eliminated or significantly reduced for certain builders.
A staff report indicated this could result in a loss of about $230 million in revenue for Toronto alone.
In the Ontario budget, which was released last week, the province did not provide municipalities with additional funding to help offset either COVID-19 or housing revenue losses. Instead, it committed $48 million in funding for Toronto’s supportive housing costs. Finance Minister Peter Bethlenfalvy said this was the city’s “top request.”
The mayor's office has not confirmed whether this funding was a "top request," saying instead it was a "key funding ask" made by former Mayor John Tory and McKelvie directly to the province.
The funding is part of a larger pledge the Progressive Conservative’s made to provide an additional $202 million each year to the Homeless Prevention Program and Indigenous Supportive Housing Program.
The federal government, for its part, provided municipalities with funding in 2020 and 2021 to offset COVID-19 shortfalls. There was no new funding in the 2023 budget.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
India's foreign minister reacts to murder charges, claims Canada welcomes criminals
India's Foreign Affairs Minister accused Canada of welcoming criminals from his country in response to the RCMP's recent arrests in a homicide that has roiled tensions between the two countries.
15-year-old boy stabbed in Ottawa on Thursday dies
A 15-year old boy who was critically injured after a stabbing in Nepean on Thursday has died of his injuries, Ottawa's English public school board said Sunday.
Dash cam catches moment suspected drunk driver hits parked car, sends it careening into North Shore flower shop
Police say it’s fortunate no one was injured or killed in a collision at North Vancouver’s Park and Tilford shopping centre Saturday evening that sent one vehicle careening into a flower shop and another into a set of concrete barriers outside a Winners store.
Actor Bernard Hill, of 'Titanic' and 'Lord of the Rings,' has died at 79
Actor Bernard Hill, who delivered a rousing cry before leading his people into battle in 'The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King' and went down with the ship as the captain in 'Titanic,' has died.
'A tiny city:' Pro-Palestinian campus protesters organize for another week
Pro-Palestinian activists have set up tents at universities in Toronto, Ottawa, Vancouver and Montreal, following a wave of similar protests at campuses in the United States linked to the Israel-Hamas war.
Lawsuit against Meta asks if Facebook users have right to control their feeds using external tools
Do social media users have the right to control what they see — or don't see — on their feeds?
A Holocaust survivor will mark that history differently after the horrors of Oct. 7
This year's Holocaust Remembrance Day, which begins on Sunday evening in Israel, carries a heavier weight than usual for many Jews around the world.
Princess Anne lays wreath at Battle of Atlantic ceremony; honours late Queen
Princess Anne saluted Canadian veterans and current forces members and honoured her late mother during separate ceremonies Sunday in Victoria as she wrapped up a three-day British Columbia West Coast royal visit.
El Nino weakening doesn't mean cooler temperatures this summer, forecasters say
As Canadians brace themselves for summer temperatures, forecasters say a weakening El Nino cycle doesn’t mean relief from the heat.