Talk about awkward.
Mayor John Tory stands shoulder-to-should with Ontario's Finance Minister and admits that the relationship between City Hall and Queen's Park has seen better days.
The Mayor says "its not business as usual" between the two levels of government and he adds that's a direct result of Charles Sousa and his Ontario Liberals pulling a flip-flop on Tory's plan to put tolls on the Gardiner Expressway and DVP.
Sousa and Tory sat down for a face-to-face on Monday, to talk about the provincial budget that will be presented next month.
Tory says he stressed to Sousa that Toronto needs "a better deal" for more provincial funding to pay for public transit expansion and new affordable housing units.
He says it would be "a grave mistake" should the Liberals choose not to meet Toronto's needs, adding that in the run-up to next year's provincial election, Tory plans to meet with the Queen's Park opposition leaders to find out what their plans are for public projects in Toronto.
It was earlier this year that Premier Kathleen Wynne reneged on her pledge not to stand in the way, should city hall decide to go ahead with road tolls to raise money for public projects.
The Liberals committed to giving Toronto a greater share of the provincial gas tax, but Mayor Tory has insisted that revenue would not be enough to satisfy the city's needs.
Sousa says that options are being discussed to boost funding for the City of Toronto, but he stops short of saying what those options might be.