There were lots of sympathetic statements, but two provincial cabinet ministers attending the Federation of Northern Ontario Municipalities session Friday made it clear to delegates that cuts to the provincial budget won't be reversed.
With about a dozen protestors outside FONOM on Friday -- held at the Holiday Inn on Regent Street – upset about education cuts, Steve Clark, the Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing, and Michael Tibollo, Minister of Tourism, Culture and Sport, fielded questions in the 'bear pit' session from politicians from across the North.
One delegate asked how schools are supposed to deliver quality education when the 2019 budget is enlarging class sizes and leading to fewer teaching positions.
Rural communities in Northern Ontario are already very vulnerable, she said, and the cuts “will have a major impact on the quality of education and the ability to offer courses and specialized programming.”
Clark responded that the Doug Ford government is sensitive to the issue, and decided not to make any changes to class sizes in younger grade, only high school.
“Northern and rural communities do have some unique challenges when it comes to access to schools, and they've already received under the previous government some significant school closures,” he said.
However, the Tories inherited a $15 billion deficit from the Liberals, Clark said, so tough decisions are needed to get it under control.
Another delegate worried about provincial downloading of costs through cuts to conservation authorities, public health and other areas.
“Those same taxpayers are now going to be asked (to pay more) at a municipal level,” she said, “because we know … our emergency services (costs) did not go down, our school board budgets did not go down. We have the same number of roads to look after with all the flooding.”
Clark said he is open to talking with municipalities on ways to reduce costs or find efficiencies, but a big boost in funding is not in the cards.
“I hear you in terms of wanting more time and more dollars and more resources,” he said. “I'm gonna be honest with you … I cannot give you any guarantees because there literally isn't any more money.”
The province's focus is on addressing the deficit while protecting frontline services, he said, a challenging process.
“My door is always open and I've indicated that if there's some ideas on how we can how we can work more efficiently across Ontario's 444 municipalities, I'm open to suggestions,” Clark told reporters after the session. “We inherited a challenging fiscal environment, to say the least, where ... the previous government was spending $30 million more a day than they were taking in.
“In saying that, I'm open to some suggestions and I'm open to continuing the dialogue.”
Mayor Brian Bigger said he hadn't had a chance to have a direct exchange with Clark, but was looking forward to developing a good relationship.
“And just ensuring that they know all the great things are happening in Sudbury,” bigger said. “There are many things (we're doing) that are closely aligned with their objectives and what they're trying to accomplish in the province. I'm always looking for ways to work in partnership and sharing solutions and, hopefully, some insights and ideas.”
Making it easier for businesses to thrive is a top priority for him, and the province, and the moves they've made in streamlining the planning process and reducing development charges compliment what city council is doing, Bigger said.
“We're amazingly well aligned with their idea of stimulating economic development and, you know, reducing red tape and just making it easier for people to invest in our community.”
After a question about the landlord/tenant board, Ward 4 Coun. Geoff McCausland asked Clark about comments this week from Tory MPP Sam Oosteroff who pledged to make abortion “unthinkable” in Ontario.
Clark said he wasn't that familiar with the comments, but pointed to Ford's statement that his government has no interest in changing the current rules around abortion.
“And I support the premier on that,” he said.
@darrenmacd
