Ontario campaign does little to solve financial crisis among cities

Local politicians were all smiles when Ontario PC leader Doug Ford made a multi-billion dollar promise to upload responsibility for the Ottawa's struggling LRT — a pledge also made by Liberal leader Bonnie Crombie, with the NDP and Greens opting for a pledge to restore operational transit funding. 

It's by far the biggest campaign promise for the capital, and one of the most high-ticket promises made for any city.

But municipalities have had another issue at the top of their wishlists, albeit with far less flash. 

"Cities need a different way of creating revenue. That would solve for everything," Laine Johnson, a councillor for Ottawa's college ward, said. 

Municipalities say years of provincial and federal downloading, including responsibility for increasingly complex social issues, have made the situation untenable.  

"It's boring. You can't cut a ribbon on that," said Johnson. "But the centre cannot hold." 

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Paying for services 

Without other revenue sources, cities must predominantly rely on property taxes.

Riley Brockington, another Ottawa city councillor and board member with the Association of Municipalities of Ontario, said that inevitably leads to large tax hikes. 

"Property taxes were never intended to pay for things like social services and the health crisis that is the homelessness, mental health, addictions crisis unfolding on our streets," explained Marianne Meed Ward, mayor of Burlington and chair of Ontario Big City Mayors.

She noted the calls for a new fiscal framework are coming from all municipal organizations. 

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"We are all aligned. And I don't know that I've ever seen that in my 15 or so years in elected office," said Meed Ward.

The current system of funding major projects is overly bureaucratic and makes it impossible for cities to make long-term plans, according to Meed Ward. 

"It's like The Hunger Games of funding and it doesn't guarantee us the revenue that we need," she said.

Why not now? 

Meed Ward would like to see more flexible funding similar to the gas tax, which grows with populations, reduces the administrative burden, and provides certainty at a time when an impending trade war threatens to derail local economies. 

She said Ford's three main competitors are all open to a new financial relationship, which is progress, adding that OCBM had "good dialogue" with the government prior to the campaign. 

But the issue has failed to break through as a main election concern. 

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It's not an easy headline nor an easy vote-getter for the PCs, which Myer Siemiatycki, professor emeritus of politics at Toronto Metropolitan University, say have effectively set the election agenda. 

He said Ford has made big-ticket promises in areas with the most seats — including the Ottawa LRT uploading, a tunnel under Highway 401, and the redevelopment of Ontario Place — focusing on the "pathway to becoming premier" regardless of what municipal politicians might choose to prioritize.

Other parties have struggled to turn the conversation toward social issues, though Siemiatycki applauds AMO for its "cheeky" and "aggressive" campaign telling Ontarians to 'vote like your quality of life on it.'

"Municipalities need tax sources beyond the property tax. Regrettably, that's not what we have heard on the campaign trail," Siemiatycki said. "On that front, I would imagine that this campaign has been a disappointment to municipal politicians."

Uploading responsibilities

Alexander Wray, a research scientist at Western University, agreed the party platforms provide nothing "groundbreaking."

"Nobody's discussing how we're going to give municipalities new revenue tools that they can use to raise revenue and pay for different programs and services as well as address some of the downloading that's occurred over the last 20 years," he said, suggesting local sales taxes should be put on the table.

Beyond Ottawa's LRT promise, several parties have suggested uploading responsibility for social issues. The NDP has specifically mentioned emergency shelters. 

Wray calls that a "non-starter" which simply shifts money around while opening the door to politicization. 

Johnson has her own concerns. 

"Cities are essential for hyperlocal responsiveness where people are at. I get a little concerned when the solution to some of our problems is that the province actually gets to assume greater parts of our programs," she said. 

Provincial overrides

Brockington said provincial responsibilities shouldn't be paid for off the backs of local taxpayers, noting paramedic, long-term care and childcare costs. 

He warns that without intervention "huge" property tax hikes will be inevitable.

"We need the provincial government to acknowledge that there are provincial services that municipalities are offering and that has to be again reexamined and uploaded back to the province," he said. 

Siemiatycki notes another issue that's come sharply into focus over the past term — provincial involvement in municipal issues.

"We've got a premier who wants to decide where there should and shouldn't be bike lanes, where there should and shouldn't be safe injection sites, how traffic should move in cities," he said. 

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The PC platform also suggests a desire to restrict the placement of speed enforcement cameras and upload building approvals for some infrastructure projects. 

While the fiscal issue can feel "dry," Brockington implored voters to consider it. 

"I realize in the provincial election there are many issues that people care about," he said. "Don't ignore, neglect the municipal services that are being provided."