Marit Stiles calls for a New Deal for municipalities

QUEEN’S PARK – Marit Stiles, Leader of the Ontario NDP, will give Ford the opportunity to say yes to a New Deal for Municipalities, putting the motion to a vote at Queen’s Park today.

“You deserve a government that makes your life easier and takes care of the basics,” said Stiles. “After 6 long years of Doug Ford’s Conservatives, life is more expensive than ever. Ontarians are paying more and getting less. We need things to change right now.”

“We will build strong and caring communities by reversing decades of cuts and downloads that have driven up costs for everyone,” said Stiles. “Today, Doug Ford and his Conservatives will face a choice - will they stand with people and start investing in communities? It’s long past time that you had a government that stood up for you, that focused on getting the basics right. If Ford won’t step up to the plate, he needs to get out of the way so we can get things done”.

Background

Marit Stiles and the Ontario NDP's plan would reverse unfair provincial downloads and bring stability to municipal finances through fair cost-sharing of municipal-provincial priorities. This New Deal will include:

• Uploading back provincial financial responsibility for affordable housing, shelters, and homelessness prevention programs, while maintaining locally focused delivery by municipal service managers.
• The restoration of 50% provincial funding for municipal transit net operational costs.
• A commitment to get Ontario back to building affordable homes through Homes Ontario - the Ontario NDP’s plan to provide significant new provincial investments in public, non-profit and co-op housing, in partnership with municipal service managers.
• The application of a rural and Northern lens to the development of this new partnership that recognizes the unique challenges and opportunities facing those communities.