QUEEN’S PARK — Mike Schreiner released the following statement after the Premier would not commit to additional funding for municipalities:
“The Premier is patting himself on the back for securing federal money, but he is dodging questions about whether the provincial will step in to cover the gaps.
We know that $7 billion won’t be enough to dig cities out of the red when it is split amongst Ontario’s 444 municipalities.
Just $625 million was allocated nationally for childcare, which will be inadequate to preserve existing childcare spaces and help parents return to the workforce.
Transit cuts, property tax increases and rising childcare fees will be unavoidable if the Premier doesn’t deliver provincial funds.
It’s unfair for the Premier to beg Ottawa for part of the money and then ask cities to find mysterious efficiencies to cover the rest.”