Burlington Mayor calling for additional funding for Ontario municipalities
Published July 6, 2020 at 10:21 pm
Mayor Marianne Meed Ward is calling on the federal and provincial governments to provide municipalities, including Burlington, with funding to help them get through the pandemic.
Mayor Marianne Meed Ward is calling on the federal and provincial governments to provide municipalities, including Burlington, with funding to help them get through the pandemic.
“Time has run out. We need our governments to act,” Meed Ward said in a statement.
Meed Ward was critical of the Province’s spending thus far in relation to the pandemic and is urging the Province to act now in providing funding municipalities need to continue to serve its residents.
“Municipalities are on the front lines of delivering essential services during the pandemic. We are key partners in any economic recovery through our infrastructure projects and community services,” Meed Ward said.
Videos
“Ontario municipalities are speaking with one voice to deliver one important message: Our residents cannot wait any longer. To protect municipal services, we need immediate provincial and federal support to cover lost revenue and additional costs caused by the COVID-19 crisis,” she continued.
The Canadian Federation of Municipalities (FCM) is calling for at least $10 billion in emergency relief, which will be funded completely by the provincial and federal governments.
Additionally, the FCM’s proposal includes $4 million to offset lost transit revenue and increased service costs.
According to Meed Ward, city and town Councils across Ontario are discussing cost-saving service reductions, including:
- supports to children, families and seniors;
- reducing or cancelling transit services;
- staffing adjustments including layoffs and delaying or cancelling hiring;
- reducing essential services including public health, fire, paramedic and police services;
- closing parks and cultural sites and cancelling recreation programs;
- slower land use planning reviews and development approvals; and
- cancelling or deferring critical infrastructure and affordable housing projects, costing construction jobs.
Further, Meed Ward emphasized that without additional government funding, municipalities will be forced to cut social services and increase property taxes.
“Cuts or property tax increases will unfairly hurt the very same people that the federal and provincial governments have spent billions helping during the pandemic,” she said.
“Our residents need support now. The time is up for federal-provincial wrangling about how to share the costs. We strongly encourage the federal government to address this in their fiscal update this week,” she added.
Cover photo courtesy of Marianne Meed Ward via Instagram
insauga's Editorial Standards and Policies advertising