Reversal of retroactive funding cuts could mean 'new beginning,' Toronto mayor says

Toronto Mayor John Tory says he hopes an Ontario government decision to cancel retroactive cuts to municipalities marks a "new beginning" in the relationship between the city and province.

"I've been describing it as a new beginning," Tory told CBC Radio's Metro Morning on Tuesday.

"I just think it's a fact that they should have sat down with us from day one and said: 'Look, we have financial problems here, we have many joint programs, we send a lot of money to the city and we want to see if we can find better ways to do those joint programs and better ways to do things, so that we can help address some of our financial problems, and frankly, maybe do a better job of delivering services to people,'" he said.

On Monday, Ontario Premier Doug Ford announced that the government will not proceed with cuts scheduled this year to municipal funding that would have affected subsidized child-care spaces, public health programs and ambulance services.

Tory said he was informed in a call on Sunday that the province was going to reverse the cuts on Monday. "I'm just happy about that because I think it shows that they did listen, not just to me and to the other mayors, but they listened to a lot of members the public who, I think, were making their voices heard."

Mayor conducted campaign against cuts

The mayor said he was told on the weekend by a Member of Parliament campaigning in Toronto ahead of the October federal election that the provincial cuts were the main topic of conservation on doorsteps.

 "He couldn't get anyone to talk about federal issues because they only wanted to talk about this," Tory said.

Tory had conducted a high-profile campaign against the cuts. The campaign included news conferences, a petition that garnered more than 31,000 signatures, letters to 11 Progressive Conservative MPPs in Toronto and door knocking in one PC riding in Toronto. 

Other municipalities also pushed back hard against the cuts.

The petition demanded the province reverse the cuts, which were revealed after the city passed its 2019 budget. The city had said the cuts would have a significant negative impact on the public. The total cuts amounted to $177 million in 2019, city officials said.

Cuts in future years, however, will proceed, Ford indicated on Monday.

"We've come up with a conclusion that we're going to work together," Ford said. "We're going to maintain the funding throughout this year. Every mayor I talked to said they can find savings. So that's good news. But they said they needed more runway."

Tory said, however, he believes that discussions between the city and province still need to be held about those cuts. He said there may be "other ways" to find the money.

"The people have made it clear they don't want these programs victimized by financial problems," Tory said.

"I can only hope, going forward, that maybe there has been, on all sides, a bit of recognition of what it means to truly co-operate, what it means to truly collaborate, what a real partnership means."

The provincial government is grappling with an $11.7-billion deficit and had announced a host of funding cuts to municipalities. The cuts, combined with the cancellation of an increase to municipalities' share of the gas tax, mean local governments would have been out well over half a billion dollars annually.