Toronto: The Ontario government is providing an additional $19.42 million to Durham municipalities to help address ongoing Covid-19 operating costs.
In 2020, Durham municipalities received $50.50 million from federal and provincial governments under the Safe Restart Programme to help offset operating deficits.
Both total $69.93million in federal-provincial grants to support operating costs.
However, all Durham municipalities have raised 2021 taxes except for Pickering and Uxbridge, which have not yet announced their 2021 budgets [see related stories below].
It appears there is no additional funding for Brock (List of Grants). Brock has raised 2021 tax by 2.4 per cent. Funding is covid related and Brock has had 55 Covid-19 cases, but no deaths so far. All cases are resolved and there are no active cases.
The Durham funding is part of $500 million to help the province’s 444 municipalities address ongoing Covid-19 operating costs. The new financial relief will help ensure the delivery of critical services and keep capital projects on track, said a provincial media statement.
“Our government continues to adapt and respond to the Covid-19 pandemic as it evolves, and we know our municipal partners are on the front lines of this effort — providing the critical services people depend on every day,” said Steve Clark, Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing. “Our municipalities have been clear that they need ongoing operating funding in 2021, and it’s important that we step up and provide more financial relief. At the same time, we need the federal government to join us and provide our municipal partners with the additional support they deserve.”
This funding is being allocated based on a combination of a base amount using Municipal Property Assessment Corporation (MPAC) household data and an amount based on the proportion of provincial Covid-19 cases (from January 1, 2021 to February 18, 2021) in the municipality’s respective Public Health Unit.
This provincial investment builds on the $1.39 billion in operating funding that was provided to municipal partners through the joint federal-provincial Safe Restart Agreement. The second phase of the Safe Restart Agreement was allocated to all Ontario municipalities in December, to ensure that no community entered 2021 facing an operating deficit from 2020.
Quick Facts
- The government will provide its next update on Ontario’s finances and the government’s plan to continue the fight against Covid-19 in the 2021 Budget, to be delivered no later than March 31, 2021. The 2021 Budget will build on the $45 billion in support set out in Ontario’s Action Plan: Protect, Support, Recover to continue protecting people’s health and supporting Ontario’s economy through Covid-19 and beyond.
- Ontario is also supporting municipalities in finding budget savings and efficiencies through the Audit and Accountability Fund and Municipal Modernization Program.
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