Toronto Mayor John Tory is proposing a nearly $2-billion investment in housing initiatives and improvements to key services, including park and recreation centre maintenance, in the city’s 2023 budget.
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.
The city would foot $616 million from its tax base towards the overall $2 billion housing investment, Tory said, not including ongoing COVID-19 expenses. Tory is calling on other levels of government to provide the remaining funds to meet the proposed budget total.
“I stress throughout this process that frontline services, nuts-and-bolts, must be protected as much as we possibly can, despite the budget pressures we are facing. And I believe the proposed budget has achieved that,” Tory said Thursday afternoon in a news conference at City Hall.
The housing initiatives build on the city’s Housing Action Plan passed in Dec. 2022, which outlines significant changes to existing zoning regulations, including permitting multiplexes on all residential lots and eliminating so-called exclusionary zoning policies that prohibit modest density in most residential neighbourhoods.
The investments announced today that are proposed in the 2023 budget include:
• $3.5 million in new funding to fully support the implementation of legalizing multi-tenant housing
• $7.08 million for the Eviction Prevention Intervention in the Community (EPIC) program
• $18.85 million for the Multi-Unit Residential Acquisition program
• $146 million for operation of the city's Housing Secretariat which includes housing development, revitalization, and improvement, and support for tenants
• $295.8 million for the city’s subsidy to Toronto Community Housing Corporation, as well as a further $10.8 million as they work to mitigate the impacts of COVID-19
As for the “nuts-and-bolts” services, the budget includes protecting recreation centre hours during slower seasons, maintaining outdoor pools and rinks schedules, continuing to deploy seasonal parks works teams for spring and fall cleanup, and keeping wading pools and all youth spaces open in city facilities.
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.
“These investments will help protect renters from eviction, save affordable housing that might be lost to the private market, build more supportive housing and ensure our park, rinks and youth spaces are fully operational and welcoming,” Budget Committee Chair and Deputy Mayor Jennifer McKelvie said at the news conference.
Tory says the budget is a fair proposal that avoids cutting crucial services and funding for initiatives that residents need.
“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.
To reach the $2 billion goal for housing, Tory is calling on the federal and provincial governments to contribute to housing initiatives that he says are under their jurisdiction, including:
• $48 million to support wrap-around services for 2,000 units of supportive housing from the province—a planned increase of 900 more units than 2022—under its responsibilities for mental healthcare
• $91.9 million to support refugee housing costs from the federal government, under its responsibilities for immigration and refugees
The spending plans announced today are just one pillar of the 2023 budget.
Yesterday, Tory announced a proposed $53-million subsidy increase for the Toronto Transit Commission (TTC) 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.
Tory also announced a proposed $48.3-million budget increase for the Toronto Police Service 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.
Tory said that although certain fares and fees will rise if this budget is approved, the increases are minimal and in line with inflation.
“...While we simply can't afford to freeze taxes or water rates or solid waste fees or TTC fares, we have been successful in keeping all of these increases in all of these areas below the rate of inflation, recognizing the pressures that people are facing at this point in time,” he said.
The Budget Committee will start reviewing the proposals on Tuesday and will hear feedback from Toronto residents and businesses in public presentations the following week.
The proposed budget will then go to city council for review on Feb. 14 and council can choose to amend the budget. However, under new strong mayor powers recently granted in Toronto, Tory could veto those amendments. The veto, however, can be overturned by a two-thirds vote (16 votes) by members of council.
