Money coming from Ottawa not sufficient, Tory says
Mayor says city needs $1.5B, but is getting only $166M for infrastructure
The Trudeau government’s early delivery of some previously promised cash won’t help Toronto’s pandemic-ravaged finances, says Mayor John Tory, but he expects a “substantial” bailout for cities soon.
Tory said Canada’s biggest city will get $166 million of $2.2 billion in gas-tax revenues the federal government is sending to municipalities now rather than making them wait for instalments.
Toronto’s share is equal to a single week of lost revenues and extra expenses due to COVID-19 and is nowhere near the extra $1.5 billion Toronto needs this year, Tory said.
And there’s another catch — to the frustration of municipal leaders, Monday’s funding can only be spent on infrastructure projects, rather than addressing pandemic-related operating losses that threaten services in towns and cities across the country.
“It does not represent the comprehensive response needed and it is not new money,” Tory said.
He blamed the delay for Ottawa and the provinces hammering out a full bailout package on an “arcane constitution” that pits them against each other, but added that Ontario cabinet ministers tell him “the main event” is imminent.
“Hopefully the constitutional dancing, the constitutional fencing, will come to an end very soon and they will come forward with a significant package that will help us produce a more robust recovery for the whole country,” Tory said.
In April, municipalities asked the provincial and federal governments for $10 billion — $7.6 billion to cover operating losses suffered by towns and cities and $2.4 billion for losses related to transit operations.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau portrayed moving forward on the gas tax funding as a “start,” but he made clear that any further aid would depend on the co-operation of the provinces, which have constitutional responsibility for municipalities.
And in comments that buoyed municipal leaders, he acknowledged the serious funding woes facing municipalities.
“I’m very concerned about the funding level for cities … There’s a range of services offered by cities that are (in) danger of disappearing,” he said. “We need to do more and we will do more, but doing more needs to happen hand in hand with the provinces, who have jurisdiction over the municipalities,” Trudeau said, adding that they need to “step up as well.”
As municipalities contemplate cuts to services such as police, fire departments, garbage collection and transit, Infrastructure and Communities Minister Catherine McKenna confirmed that the federal funds could not be used to address any of those pressures.
“It’s not for operational costs. It’s for capital expenses,” she told a briefing.
The Prime Minister’s Office said such projects might include improvements to highspeed broadband, water and road systems and cycling and walking paths.
“That’s like saying in the family, ‘Look, we want brighten up the outside of the house and we want to fix this and that but gosh, we don’t have money today for groceries,’ ” said Bill Karsten, president of the Federation of Canadian Municipalities.
“We look at that as the economic stimulus recovery, not as the direct concern, crisis, dire need we are in today,” said Karsten, a councillor with the Halifax Regional Municipality.
Still, Karsten, who has spoken with Trudeau on the issue, said he’s convinced that the prime minister grasps the seriousness of the financial crisis.
“I believe the prime minister gets it.
I believe he understands how important municipalities are to economic recovery. There is no recovery if our cities, towns and villages are suffering financially,” Karsten said.
“We are encouraged by his public commitment to come forward with additional federal support,” said Karsten, who issued a plea for provinces to “step forward.