Toronto City Council passed the debate over a controversial set of new taxes to the province, prompting Ontario's Finance Minister to look for new ways to relieve the city's cash crunch.
Finance Minister Greg Sorbara wouldn't offer a firm commitment, but said the province will continue to look for a resolution to Toronto's fiscal woes.
"If you want an indication of where we're going, look at where we've been. I think we've made tremendous progress on the quality of relations with all of our municipalities and in particular, the city of Toronto," Sorbara said Tuesday at Queen's Park.
Sorbara said social housing is of particular interest to the province.
"In the area of social housing, that's an area that we're looking at together with municipalities across the province. We are concerned about the state of that housing.''
On Monday, city councillors deferred a much-debated tax vote on a proposed land transfer tax and vehicle registration fee until after the provincial election in October.
Some councillors believe a new provincial administration could be more sympathetic to Toronto's financial problems.
Mayor David Miller says the new taxes would raise $356 million a year for cash-strapped Toronto.
The city faces a budget shortfall next year of nearly $600 million.
Conservative Leader John Tory was sympathetic with the call for more municipal funds, but said the burden shouldn't fall on taxpayers.
"I think if we could actually get governments working together, and we can focus on more value for money, than there can be some of these problems addressed very effectively," Tory said Tuesday.
"But it starts with not deciding we're going to stick it to the tax payers again. It starts with focusing on value for money at the city and at the province so the tax payers know their money is being spent well."
The Liberals have requested a review examining the financial pressures facing Ontario's cities.
Sorbara said the government will not act until they have received the report in February.
"We're making real progress there and my anticipation is that when that review is completed, municipalities will say it was worthy of the time we took,'' Sorbara said.
NDP Leader Howard Hampton said municipalities shouldn't have to pay for provincial programs like social housing and disability support.
"The government that decides how a program is going to be established, what the rules are, what the criteria are, how it's going to be administered, should not be forcing someone else to pay for it,'' Hampton said.
"That just makes no sense . . . The downloading issue needs to be addressed.''
With a report from CTV's Desmond Brown and files from the Canadian Press
