Premier Doug Ford says his government has cancelled retroactive funding cuts to municipalities.
The Progressive Conservative government has announced funding cuts to public health, child care, tourism and conservation authorities, as it tackles an $11.7-billion deficit.
The cuts combined with the cancellation of an increase to municipalities' share of the gas tax mean local governments would be out well over half a billion dollars annually.
Municipalities have been pushing back hard against the funding cuts, which were announced after they already passed this year's budgets.
Local government leaders have warned that they will be forced to raise taxes or slash services as a result of the Tories' cuts.
Last week, Ford said the province would pay for them to get outside line-by-line budget reviews done.
Toronto Mayor John Tory released the following statement:
“Today, the Province announced it will be stopping retroactive 2019 budget cuts to public health, child care and EMS.
I want to thank the residents of Toronto, City Councillors, City staff, and LUMCO mayors across Ontario, who joined in our efforts to oppose these cuts.
I also want to thank Premier Doug Ford and Minister Steve Clark for listening to these concerns and re-considering the Government of Ontario’s decision.
As I have said before, I recognize and appreciate the challenges the Government of Ontario faces getting its budget deficit under control, and I support its intention to do so. However, this must be done in a prudent, collaborative manner that does not impact the vital services that people in Toronto rely on each and every day. This can only be done if we work together.
The Province has today committed to a process where we will work together to identify efficiencies in both of our governments. In speaking with Premier Ford this morning, I reiterated Toronto's willingness to work with them on what for us has been a continuous search for efficiencies each and every year, with our focus continuing to be on ways we can achieve them without jeopardizing core services our residents expect.
I am hopeful this process will be truly collaborative, and that we will have the time to identify a reasonable number of efficiencies that can be achieved, without having to make cuts to important services.
As this process unfolds, I will continue to advocate for investment in services such as public health, child care, and EMS, while looking at ways we can modernize and deliver those and other services more effectively.”