One-size-fits-all approach ill-suited for Ontario's cities

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Throughout Ontario, the COVID-19 pandemic is taking a devastating toll on the finances of municipalities.  Kingston, like many cities and towns, is deferring property taxes, so that citizens can afford the necessities, like food, shelter, and medication. But as municipal revenues shrink and expenses pile up, local economies are going to need help to recover.

Yes, municipalities will need immediate stimulus, but it’s also time we address how we reached this point, and the widening gaps in the system.

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Nearly a generation ago, former premier Mike Harris downloaded provincial responsibilities, including social services, public housing, and public health, onto municipalities. Municipalities were merged. In the decades since, municipal staff numbers increased by a third to deliver these services, while local governments have struggled to balance delivering critical services while keeping property taxes affordable for residents.

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With municipalities unable to run deficits, even before the COVID-19 pandemic, cities have been left to choose among necessities, stretched too thin for too long.

With the added pressure of COVID-19, many municipalities are facing even more dire choices. On April 23, the Federation of Canadian Municipalities estimated that their members will face a deficit of $10 billion to $15 billion and, if no intervention is offered by either the federal or provincial government, cuts will be drastic. Toronto would need to raise residential property taxes by 56% just to cover its projected deficit. Municipalities can’t shoulder this. The federal government has rolled out supports for individuals and businesses. It’s time for the provincial government to follow suit.

There is an obvious place to start. For months, the Ontario NDP has been calling on the province to retroactively cover the full cost of local public health units. It is irresponsible that municipalities are expected to cover nearly 30% of skyrocketing health expenses during a global pandemic given the limited tools in their operating budgets. With the support of both parties, legislation to this effect could be passed quickly, giving municipalities much-needed relief.

This is but one example. We need to have serious conversations about the funding models for public transit, for housing, for social services, homelessness, addiction, and mental health services. The list goes on.

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While there is an immediate need for funds, we also need to work on the underlying problem. Let’s reassess the relationship between municipalities and the province. The needs of Toronto have little in common with those of Kingston, Timmins, or Windsor. Yet we are stuck with a one-size-fits-all approach, even though it clearly does not fit.

The devastation of COVID-19 is everywhere around us, but we will recover. As we do, we owe it to our city, province, and country, to rebuild in a manner that recognizes the needs of communities, organizations, and businesses that make our towns and cities flourish. We must rebuild with a sustainable, green future at the top of mind, one that supports those that have previously been left behind.

None of this is possible if we balance provincial budgets at the expense of municipal ones. More than any level of government municipal services are intertwined with our daily lives and quality of living: from driving or taking transit to work, to walking in a park or enjoying a library book. They also are there on our darkest days:s municipal services include ambulances, fire, and policing, as well as social services.

If we want to emerge from this stronger than we were before, municipalities must not be left behind.

Ian Arthur

MPP for Kingston and the Islands