Wynne hits back on Toronto funds, as mayor meets with PC leader
Premier Kathleen Wynne ramped up the war of words with Mayor John Tory on Monday, saying the province has done plenty for Toronto and other Ontario municipalities, despite what he says. “No government has put more money into transit in the city of Toronto than ours,” Wynne told the legislature after listing the billions in provincial funding for various transit projects, including the Spadina subway extension.
Wynne said as the representative of Don Valley West, she knows first-hand the challenges of Toronto Community Housing Corp. (TCHC), which faces a massive repair backlog and potential closure of thousands of units. On Sunday, Tory said the province was not doing enough for social housing in Toronto.
Earlier in the day, Wynne appeared to shrug off a rift.
“I think this is what happens after a budget. The city of Toronto wants more and, you know, that’s kind of the way it goes,” Wynne said in a radio interview on NewsTalk 1010.
But she also pledged to continue to work with Tory to address the repair backlog.
“We’re going to continue to work with (Tory) because look, I’ve got social housing units in my own riding. I know that they need work.”
The premier’s comments came a day after Tory toured a west-end community housing complex with flyers suggesting the province is neglecting its residents by ignoring the city’s request to pay a one-third share of social housing repairs totalling $864 million.
The flyers feature a headshot of Etobicoke North MPP Shafiq Qaadri and say “The Ontario Government is not helping to get your housing fixed.” Residents are urged to contact their MPP to “say no to closing housing.”
Queen’s Park dispatched Transportation Minister Steven Del Duca to city hall Monday to register the province’s disapproval about “effectively campaigning against sitting Liberal MPPs.” At the same time, Tory was in a previously scheduled closed-door meeting with Ontario PC Leader Patrick Brown.
“There’s a fine line between pas- sionate advocacy for your community and moving in a different direction altogether,” Del Duca told reporters standing outside the mayor’s office. “I think the behaviour is a little bit over the line.”
On Monday, the Liberals also released a series of open letters and press releases highlighting the billions the province has given toward transit and housing in Toronto.
And Wynne’s office issued a point-by-point challenge to claims made by Brown and Tory at their joint news conference.
“Conservatives Patrick Brown and John Tory made a bunch of false claims about the Province of Ontario. Both the current and former PC Leaders should know that Facts Still Matter in Ontario,” a news release said.
Tory was head of the Ontario PC Party from 2004 to 2009.
After his meeting with Tory, Brown said Wynne and the Liberals have taken Toronto for granted for too long. He vowed that if he’s elected premier next year, he will stand up for Canada’s largest city.
Yet Brown offered no major spending commitments, instead announcing “the first in a series of concrete promises” that will be followed by “additional measures” to respond to Toronto’s priorities.
These initial measures include introducing a private member’s bill to respond to the mayor’s request to block convicted criminals from reapplying to live in Toronto Community Housing, something the Wynne government has so far rejected.
An Ontario PC government would also allow TCHC to purchase natural gas independently, which the city has estimated could save $6.3 million annually. Nor did Brown say how much a Tory government would contribute toward TCHC’s massive repair bill, with hundreds of units threatened with closure this year.
“Right now, we need to look at the provincial books to make sure that the help Toronto needs is there and certainly it is a conversation that we started today. I realize we have to do our part.”
Brown said it was also “premature” to comment on funding Toronto’s priority transit projects, including the downtown relief line, though it’s reasonable the city wants reliable funding from the province.
“We want to be a significant partner in these projects,” Brown said, but “we’re not going to get into specifics today.”