Mayor Ford said provincial cuts will have ‘devastating’ effect

Watch: Toronto mayor Rob Ford discusses the provincial funding cuts
TORONTO – The $150 million withdrawal of provincial funding will have a “devastating impact on Toronto’s most vulnerable residents,” Mayor Rob Ford said Thursday in the latest move of a public spat between the municipal and provincial government.

During a press conference at Toronto City Hall, the mayor said the $150 million funding drawback from the provincial government will result in cuts to Toronto’s social programs.

“Toronto has always carried the heaviest load when it comes to providing social programs,” Ford said. “A cut of $150 million will put a serious strain on our ability to provide these vital services to the most vulnerable residents.”

Ontario is ending Toronto’s special “pooling” arrangement to pay for welfare and disability support programs. But Sousa said the city will actually get more money overall, since the province is uploading more costs, such as welfare.

Related: Mayor Ford makes gains versus Olivia Chow in latest mayoral poll.

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Toronto will get $364 million this year to pay for social programs, growing to $500 million by 2016, he said. The province is also waiving a $200-million loan that the city stopped paying in 2005.

“These payments have been off our books for the past eight years and forgiving this loan has absolutely no impact on our bottom line,” the mayor said.

The province has maintained that despite the withdrawal, the city will have more money.

“Even after Toronto Pooling is phased out, the City of Toronto will come out $110M ahead by 2016. And they have choices in how they manage their programs and their spending,” said Susie Heath, press secretary for the Minister of Finance, in a written statement released on Thursday.

Heath further stated that the city could raise more revenue by maintaining its land transfer tax and not institute a 10 per cent cut – a suggestion which the mayor balked at.

“They’re trying to force us to keep the Land transfer tax. They’re trying to force us to increase tax. They’re trying to force us to bring back the vehicle registration tax,” he said.

While the city could make up some of the funding gap by not shaving 10 per cent off the land transfer tax, the mayor said he’s made a promise to cut the tax and still intends to do so.

The finance minister suggested that the city raise taxes to cover the loss, but the mayor said he won’t hike taxes over one and three-quarter per cent.

Ford insists there was no warning from the province for the impending cuts.

Officials in Sousa’s office said they tried twice to contact the mayor’s chief of staff before sending the letter outlining the changes, but there was no response.

-With files from The Canadian Press