Toronto 'cannot wait' until after election for serious talks about COVID-19 shortfall: McKelvie

The City of Toronto “cannot wait” until after the mayoral byelection for serious discussions with the federal government about it’s nearly $1 billion budgetary shortfall due to COVID-19, Deputy Mayor Jennifer McKelvie says.

McKelvie made the comment in an open letter sent to Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland on Monday.

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The letter comes after the federal government failed to include any money to help cover Toronto’s ongoing COVID-19 costs in its budget last week.

The city had been hoping that Ottawa would come forward with $235 million in funding to offset 2022 COVID-19 shortfalls, as well as a commitment for hundreds of million more to help it tackle a $933 million shortfall in its 2023 budget.

“As you know the mayoral byelection begins today and I understand you may want to wait until that campaign is over before taking any action to address Toronto's needs,” McKelvie wrote in the letter. “City council has been clear this cannot wait and voted last week to support my ongoing advocacy to the federal and provincial governments for revenue tools and a new fiscal framework for the City of Toronto. I hope we can rise above politics at this time and jointly recognize this is an urgent situation that cannot wait three months – the City of Toronto cannot wait and the people of Toronto cannot wait.”

The federal government came forward with billions in funding to help municipalities offset their COVID-19 shortfalls in 2020 and 2021 but has not committed to doing so on an ongoing basis.

That, in turn, has left Toronto in a precarious fiscal situation as it continues to see a significant revenue loss as a result of lower TTC ridership.

The city has also seen an increase in refugees and asylum seekers in its shelter system, which has left it footing the bill for the additional cost.

“I fully understand that the Government of Canada is ready to move forward from the pandemic and that you have that ability given your revenues grow with the economy. Our city and municipalities across Canada are still in recovery mode and, as you know, dependent on property taxes and limited revenue tools,” McKelvie wrote in the letter. "I strongly encourage you to make needed investments now in Toronto and cities across Canada so that your economic engines are firing on all cylinders.”

The Ontario budget tabled last month also failed to include any money to help the city offset a loss in revenue due to the COVID-19 pandemic but McKelvie has said that discussions would continue with Ford government officials.