Nicki Ward –
It’s an election year. So, Toronto’s civic budget, as in all election years is less about substance than about creating the optics that re-elect the budget-makers.
Let’s look at how the budget committee has served us in Ward 13, Toronto Centre.
The committee’s decision to take $1.7 billion from the reserve fund has drawn criticism from all sides of the political spectrum. Those on the right have described this as “Financial malpractice […] mortgaging the city’s future.” Even staunch progressives have described it as part of a series of “red flags” arguing that city reserves are not rainy-day funds or a minor accounting buffer, but money specifically set aside for bringing roads and infrastructure back to good repair.
This is bad for Ward 13, Toronto Centre. We have suffered the most from over-intensification. Our density is the highest in Canada. More people, more cars, more housing per square kilometre means that our roads, sewers and transportation systems wear out more quickly than anywhere else; twice as fast as our nearest neighbours, and five to ten times faster than some suburban wards.
The city’s transportation and parks are also sounding infrastructure alarm bells. There’s already a 10-year backlog of overdue repairs and the budget committee did not make adjustments for local density and intensity needs.
Other examples of the budget committee failing to address the density deficit, relate to small business and luxury offsets. Once again, because of over-intensification, we have much higher property values per square foot than our suburban friends – more than twice as high in some cases. Our land value is closer to that of downtown Paris than downtown Etobicoke.
This means that even relatively small commercial properties are already too expensive or too large to access the proposed “small business” benefits. And the increased levies for high value properties are not affecting mega mansions, but local properties where the land value is calculated on its “best and highest use” i.e., skyscrapers not strip malls.
These density deficits are pervasive in the budget committee’s decisions. But, in the last stages of budget committee theatre, there’s often some last-minute posturing to give the appearance of horse trading. Frankly, these are table scraps: of the total $18.9 billion in operational funds, the budget committee allocated $2 million for councillors to argue over.
Here’s how these pet projects were divvied up:
Ward 17 (Don Valley North): Rat Response & Coyote Strategy $355,000
Ward 23 (Scarborough North): Youth Innovation Hub $300,000
Ward 25 (Scarborough – Rouge Park): Complimentary Zoo School Trips $200,000
Ward 9 (Davenport): Toronto Tenant Support Program $185,000
Ward 23 (Scarborough North): Scarborough Food Tourism Pilot $150,000
Ward 15 (Don Valley West): Park Rehabilitation $150,000
Ward 10 (Spadina – Fort York): Cecil Street Community Centre $100,000
Ward 3 (Etobicoke – Lakeshore): Drop-In Winter & Hygiene Supplies $100,000
Ward 17 (Don Valley North): Seniors Housing Pest Removal Pilot $90,000
Ward 23 (Scarborough North): MyMalvern Initiative $80,000
Ward 5 (York – South Weston) Weston Community Association $75,000
Ward 14 (Toronto – Danforth): Greektown Micromobility Pilot $50,000
Ward 18 (Willowdale): Street Pole Banners – Little Iran $45,000 Ward 18
Ward 18 (Willowdale): Canada Day – Mel Lastman Square $35,000 Ward 18
Ward 17 Neighbourhood Climate Action Grants $32,000
Ward 5 (York – South Weston) Weston Area Emergency Support $30,000
Ward 23 (Scarborough North): Brookside Theft Prevention Pilot $15,000
Ward 15 (Don Valley West): Thorncliffe Park Sports Association $15,000
