Tory outlined the proposed budget Thursday and said it will improve and protect services that Torontonians use on a regular basis, and will support key housing initiatives to address affordability and supply concerns in the city.
$146 million for operation of the city's Housing Secretariat which includes housing development, revitalization, and improvement, and support for tenants Tory’s budget also aims to increase the Toronto Public Library budget by $5 million from 2022, continuing COVID-19 support of $3.6 million, protecting the Winter Maintenance budget and ensuring seasonal washrooms and fountains in city parks are open earlier in the spring and later in the fall through an added investment of more than $2.86 million.
“We have worked hard to protect frontline services, despite the opportunity that was there to cut. We've worked hard to expand funding to those areas residents have told us are the most important at this point in time and to continue the hunt for savings and efficiencies,” he said. $91.9 million to support refugee housing costs from the federal government, under its responsibilities for immigration and refugees in an effort to “keep both riders and hardworking frontline TTC employees safe.” However, to accommodate that spending, TTC fares are expected to increase by 10 cents.on Tuesday, which he said would allow the force to hire 200 new officers to address concerning violent incidents across the city, including a rise in attacks on the TTC system.
Toronto is dead. The lockdowns if anything turned people away from the big city and it will never get back to what it was pre-pandemic.
Now he just needs to find another level of government to pay for his investments.