Ontario Premier Doug Ford says the province will do everything it can to help municipalities following the new restart agreement between the federal government and the provinces, but could not confirm that Toronto's projected shortfall will be fully covered.
The province will be receiving $7 billion of the $19 billion deal with the Liberal government and Canada's largest city is projecting a $1.35 billion year-end loss, after finding over $500 million in savings to bring it down from $1.9 billion.
Before the deal was struck, Toronto Mayor John Tory has said with the legal obligation to not run a deficit, the city would have to explore service cuts or tax increases without support.
Ford on Friday said while he expects to get money flowing to cities soon, he couldn't promise the entire $1.35 billion would be going to Toronto.
"We're going to do everything we can to cover as much as we can in all areas," he said, while praising Tory for advocating for the deal to get done.
As for whether he sees any reason the city should still have to pursue cuts or tax increases now that the agreement is done, Ford wouldn't comment.
"We want to work with the City of Toronto, they're the big white elephant in the room out of 444 and I understand," he said. "Alone, the transit system that is just bleeding every single day, Metrolinx, you know they need money, everybody needs money."
On Thursday, Tory said until he saw the money he couldn't completely rule out the prospects on cuts or increases.
"I think this will go a long way, but again, until the allocations are done quite precisely and until we see all the fine print as it were, it's premature for me to declare victory, but I will just say this is a very solid step forward," he said.
PPE AND LONG-TERM CARE
Ford also cautioned any long-term care homes to not hoard personal protective equipment, after one reporter asked him about reports that some were.
"If you're stockpiling, you're not handing out the PPE, then we're coming after you, simple," he said. "We have more PPE suppliers than we know what to do with."
Outdoor visits to long-term care facilities have now resumed for up to two people, and indoor visits for the same amount can resume next Wednesday, so long as visitors provide a written attestation.
The province also announced another long-term care home was being taken over by a hospital: Villa Colombo in North York will be temporarily managed by Humber River Hospital.
As for how many long-term care facilities, the province later confirmed that three are still in code red.
Ford also said the long-awaited independent commission into long-term care, which was supposed to begin this month, is still being finalized.
"You'll be hearing about that over the next week or so, we'll be announcing the folks there and they have a lot of credibility," he said. "I need answers just as badly as you."