For municipalities, wait continues for aid package
Lack of funding causing layoffs across province, Guelph mayor says
TORONTO—Some municipalities fear they are stuck in the middle of a lingering standoff between the federal and Ontario governments over an aid package for hard-hit civic services, as an urgent request for financial help goes unanswered.
Cam Guthrie, the mayor of Guelph who also serves as the chair of the Large Urban Mayors’ Caucus of Ontario (LUMCO), said municipalities across the province issued the urgent plea to the province and federal government a month ago about the dire financial situations they find themselves in.
Not allowed to run deficits by law, municipalities across Ontario are laying off thousands of staff and contemplating deep service cuts if they cannot secure funding from both levels of government, Guthrie said.
“So when you look at these front-line services, like transit as an example, those things are going to have to start being even more on the chopping block because we can’t afford to keep them running in the way that they are,” he said. Earlier this month, LUMCO proposed a relief plan with a focus on addressing the projected $415million revenue loss from April to June in transit systems.
Guthrie said while the proposal was met positively by the federal and provincial governments, mayors across the province are concerned that the longer talks drag on between the two upper levels of government, the harder the recovery will be for cities and towns.
“I’m feeling municipalities are potentially caught in the middle of a provincial and federal issue that is being played out between fingers pointing back and forth,” he said. “And meanwhile, the municipalities in the room are jumping up and down with their hand up in the air saying, ‘We’re here, we want to help.’”
Last week, Toronto Mayor John Tory laid out a stark scenario that would see the city cut services across the board and lay off more than 19,500 staff if no aid was given. The city would also cut transit services by $575 million, reducing operations by 50 per cent. Toronto police would be cut by $31 million and have to lay off 500 officers.