The federal government will provide provinces and territories with more than $19 billion in funding with some of that money earmarked for helping municipalities that have been hard-hit by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau made the announcement during a news conference in Ottawa on Thursday afternoon with Premier Doug Ford later confirming that Ontario would receive about $7 billion of the money.
The announcement comes after a months-long campaign from a number of big city mayors, who have spoken out about the impact that COVID-19 had had on their budgets.
Toronto Mayor John Tory has been among the most vocal, telling reporters earlier this week that the city would have to begin the process of implementing a series of “grim” cuts as early as later this summer in order to cover a shortfall that is expected to reach $1.35 billion by the end of 2020.
That shortfall, he said, would have hit $1.9 billion if not for hundreds of millions that the city was able to save through a number of “mitigation strategies,” including placing hundreds of employees on unpaid leaves.
“You know we started talking about this in April and I understand the governments have been very busy helping other people but cities and towns are vitally important to the wellbeing of this country and to the wellbeing of its economic recovery and it is now time that this issue is addressed and addressed in a tangible way,” Tory said at the time.
Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland told reporters at Thursday’s press conference that the money will “provide billions in support for our towns and cities” over the next six to eight months, though she did not say precisely how much of it would be directed to municipalities.
The money will also go towards a number of other areas, including expanding childcare spaces, acquiring more Personal Protective Equipment for healthcare workers and increasing the testing capacity for COVID-19 from coast to coast.
Speaking with reporters, Trudeau said that while the government recognizes that “different provinces are facing different realities,” they will not be allowed to “just take money from one bucket and put it in another.”
That means that the devil will be in the details when it comes to how far the funding will go towards addressing the financial crisis being faced by cities like Toronto.
“Cities must remain up and running if our economy is to get back up and running,” Trudeau said. “If cities aren’t equipped for a safe restart people will not be safe.”
The Federation of Canadian Municipalities has previously said that the federal government needs to provide towns and cities with at least $10 billion in emergency operating funding to help offset the increased costs and lost revenue they have faced as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.
In Toronto, the TTC alone faces a $700 million budgetary pressure, mostly due to reduced ridership. The city also expects to lose out on $249.2 million in budgeted Municipal Land Transfer Tax revenue as a result of real-estate slowdown that accompanied the pandemic.
FROM: CP24