Mayors from Ontario’s 29 largest cities have launched an appeal to the federal and provincial governments for immediate investments in infrastructure and municipal operating funding for 2021.

Municipal governments are struggling to respond and recover from the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic. Most are operating significant budget deficits—which are not permitted by law—thanks to significant reductions in revenue streams such as transit fares and other user fees. As a result, issues such as wage freezes and cuts to infrastructure projects are very much on the table as mayors and their councils discuss ways to balance their books for the coming fiscal year.

The City of Toronto, for example, is expected to end the year about $1.5 billion below its revenue target, mostly because of a decline in transit ridership. As a result, the state-of-good-repair budget is being reduced by one-third, which means up to $400 million of infrastructure repairs which were slated for 2020 are not going to go ahead. The scenario looks even worse for 2021.

Ontario’s Big City Mayors (OBCM) met with federal and provincial infrastructure ministers Catherine McKenna and Laurie Scott by videoconference on October 15, urging both levels of government to fund municipal infrastructure as an immediate measure to stimulate cities’ economic recovery.

OBCM later passed a motion stating that funding programs should address critical needs to build growth-related infrastructure and replace aging assets, reduce greenhouse gas emissions, and strengthen economic competitiveness.

A second motion called on the governments of Canada and Ontario to provide additional emergency operating support for municipalities in 2021.

“Cities are well into 2021 budget planning. We are forecasting continued steep revenue losses, especially for services like transit and recreation, as well as property tax revenue impacts due to rising vacancy rates for commercial buildings and office towers,” said Mayor Cam Guthrie, OBCM Chair. “Safe Restart funding was vital to enable municipalities to respond to the pandemic, maintain critical services, and meet our responsibility to balance our budgets. Further funding will be just as important in 2021, when the full impact of the pandemic will be felt.”

Ontario’s Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing Steve Clark and Treasury Board President Peter Bethlenfalvy also joined the meeting to discuss the Province’s ongoing response to COVID-19 and the growth of online government services during the pandemic.

“As we respond to a second wave of COVID-19, Ontario’s Big City Mayors continue to press for financial relief, a plan for economic recovery, and longer-term reform of funding and service delivery,” said Guthrie. “We appreciate the willingness of the federal and provincial governments to listen to cities and work together to meet the extraordinary challenges we face.”

The call from OBCM echoes those issued by the construction industry. The Residential and Civil Construction Alliance of Ontario, for example, has issued a series of studies that outline the negative consequences of under-investment in state-of-good-repair and other infrastructure projects. The analysis indicated that Ontario could lose out on 60,300 jobs and $22 billion in provincial and federal government revenue over the next decade if Ottawa cuts back significantly on infrastructure spending. Over 30 years, such a scenario could result in 89,700 fewer jobs and $98 billion in lost government tax revenue.

“Ottawa needs to open up the tap and get funds flowing for infrastructure job-creation projects with greater speed,” says RCCAO chair Peter Smith. “Time is wasting, and municipalities are looking at shelving projects. Our industry employs a lot of people in Ontario and inaction will have a trickle-down effect, putting thousands out of work.”

OBCM, which was formerly known as the Large Urban Mayors’ Caucus of Ontario, includes the mayors of 29 single and lower-tier cities with populations of at least 100,000 people. The group collectively represents nearly 70 percent of Ontario’s population.