BY TRACEY DUGUAY
Only during an election year would news of provincial uploading, rather than downloading, take centre stage in the rhetoric being bandied about by politicians courting public favour.
At the annual meeting of the Association of Ontario Municipalities on Monday, Premier Dalton McGuinty announced the provincial government will resume paying the full cost of the Ontario Disability Support Program (ODSP) and Ontario Drug Benefits (ODB) for social assistance recipients.
This works out to be about $935 million over a four-year period.
“The downloading of these programs stands as one of the worst misjudgments of the previous government,” said McGuinty in a news release. “They’ve been a burden to every municipality and we’re taking them back in full.”
Mayor John Rodriguez was left scratching his head following McGuinty’s announcement because it wasn’t clear if smaller northern communities such as Greater Sudbury would benefit from this windfall.
As it stands right now, the city’s portion of the ODSP and ODB is offset by the province through the Ontario Municipal Partnership Fund (OMPF). Larger municipalities such as Toronto, Ottawa and Mississauga don’t receive this provincial partnership funding.
During the announcement, Rodriguez said the premier didn’t mention whether smaller cities would continue receiving the grant or whether it would be clawed back.
“As it was delivered yesterday, I had this feeling that surely he’s not just gonna clawback the OMPF and leave so many municipalities without any so-called ‘gift’ if you’re thinking of a politician facing an election.
“He has to be seen as giving everybody something so that Mississauga can be happy, Ottawa can be happy, Toronto can be happy, but Thunder Bay, Sudbury, Sault Ste. Marie, we get nothing?”
“Yet we’ve played ball with you for years. I thought it was strange it wasn’t clarified in some fashion yesterday so it wouldn’t leave us all wondering how does this apply to us.”
Ontario Finance Minister Greg Sorbara was expected to clarify the issue on Tuesday afternoon (after Northern Life’s press deadline).
“At this point, it could mean $3.4 million for us over a two-year period, or it could mean nothing,” said Rodriguez.
Ideally, the mayor said he hopes the province will continue to provide the OMPF until it takes over the full costs of the two social programs.
“We believe that after two years the whole process will be moving – the whole process of uploading will be in place, and we won’t be administering that anymore. We need to keep what we’re getting from them now.”
Rodriguez is also keeping his fingers crossed that the review of municipal-provincial funding arrangements announced by the premier in 2006 will result in more cost uploading.
“The real benefit to us is going to be when they upload the social programs – Ontario Works, social housing, and childcare,” he said.
A report by the review committee is expected in spring 2008.
