After serving for 12 years as a member of Mississauga municipal council — the final eight as mayor — Bonnie Crombie has been on the opposite aspect making an attempt to cope with steadily rising calls for on municipal budgets because of larger prices for points like social housing, homelessness, psychological well being and a number of different sophisticated issues that had been as soon as absolutely funded on the provincial and/or federal stage.
So what would she do concerning the downloading drawback if, or when, she grew to become premier of Ontario? And, in Durham Area, how would she deal with the difficulty of tolls on Freeway 407, the place the income collected from them goes into Authorities of Ontario coffers somewhat than to a non-public firm, because it does elsewhere from the 407? Durham residents really feel singled out as the one drivers in Ontario for paying tolls to the federal government when no different drivers are pressured to take action. Would Crombie change that if premier? Would she fast-track a hospital for Durham?
Metroland requested Crombie — who was elected chief in December 2023 however doesn’t sit within the Ontario legislature and has stated she’ll wait till a normal election is named to contest a seat, doubtless in a Mississauga using, both in June 2026 or sooner — about downloading, the continuing housing disaster, strong-mayor powers and different points in an interview in Whitby on Wednesday afternoon.
Whitby Mayor Elizabeth Roy introduced a plan to push the province to supply a $3-million planning grant for a brand new hospital in Whitby at a information convention final February. Ontario Liberal chief Bonnie Crombie stated she would push a brand new hospital for Whitby or Pickering by way of if she grew to become premier in an interview on July 24, but in addition burdened the significance of hiring and retaining nurses.
Tim Kelly Metroland file picture
Will Crombie push for a Durham hospital?
In Durham, we’d like a hospital. Would you push ahead with that?
Crombie: Oh yeah, Whitby or Pickering. Sure, completely. At the same time as a lot as we’d like a brand new hospital right here, we’d like nurses. This province is driving our nurses out of the career and out of the province. Now we have plans to recruit extra nurses and even get them within the system sooner with one-year coaching somewhat than two, giving them extra duty, treating them with extra respect and paying them appropriately, truthful wages, in order that hospitals don’t should depend on nursing businesses to fill the void. As a result of what’s occurring is that they don’t pay their folks correctly, they overburden them, and nurses are leaving the career that they love. Lots of them are signing on with nursing businesses, temp businesses and so they return to the identical clinics, hospitals they labored in, for twice the cash and half the work, so it is senseless. Hospitals are operating strains of credit score to pay for nurses to rent them from temp businesses when they need to be hiring them from employees. Deal with them with dignity and pay them what they deserve.
Would Crombie eliminate Durham 407 tolls?
The 407 freeway is a giant one right here. We all know concerning the tolls west of Pickering on the 407, all people has to pay them, they go to a non-public firm. We all know the historical past of that. East of Brock Street to Freeway 35/115 in Clarington, the 407-toll income goes to the Authorities of Ontario. Doug Ford has introduced there will probably be no new toll roads inbuilt Ontario. In 2022, simply earlier than the election, he removed the tolls on Freeway 412 and 418 in Whitby and Clarington, so persons are anticipating sooner or later he’ll eradicate the tolls on the 407 in the remainder of Durham, however he stated he gained’t. Will you, if you’re premier, promise to do this, as a result of folks anticipate it and wish it?
I’m involved concerning the 413, I don’t know whether or not that will probably be a toll freeway.
Ford stated no new toll highways.
(Former Premier Mike) Harris didn’t make any commitments about promoting off the 407 (in 1999) both, after which he did it. No one needs toll highways and we see an absence of use of them. And I don’t see the necessity for the 413, both. There are alternatives for the 407 — making it out there for business autos, trucking, transports, increasing the 427 so that you don’t want the 413 — which might be a lot of actions so that you’re not operating two parallel highways, the 413 and the 401. Let’s take the burden off the 401 and put a few of that visitors on the 407. It’s (401) a standstill, and gridlock more often than not. It was offered off by a Conservative authorities to a Spanish consortium who nonetheless has possession of it as we speak, however not majority possession, I imagine majority possession is Canadian possession. The cash at the very least is staying domestically, getting used domestically.
I might take a look at it for certain, as a result of nobody needs toll highways, it’s not our tradition, they’ve them within the U.S. It might be pricey. It might be a price. When you consider it, it was offered off for $3.1 billion.
Premier Doug Ford introduced the elimination of tolls on Highways 412 and 418 in Durham Area in February 2022. It’s hoped that Ford will ultimately eradicate tolls on the Durham portion of the 407, that are the one Ontario toll roads that drivers pay income on to the federal government. Ontario Liberal chief Bonnie Crombie, in an interview in Whitby on July 24, stated she be open to an “analysis” of the difficulty.
Susie Kockerscheidt Metroland file picture
I feel the difficulty is that folks in Durham really feel it’s unfair. They aren’t any authorities toll roads anyplace else within the province. After which they see the Authorities of Ontario importing the Don Valley Parkway and the Gardiner Expressway from the Metropolis of Toronto, however nonetheless in Durham, drivers should pay.
Let’s additionally not neglect that the 407 additionally goes by way of Vaughan, Brampton, Mississauga, Oakville, Burlington, proper to Niagara, it continues on, so it’s not only a Durham problem. I’m certain all of the residents would really like the tolls eliminated. Now we have to have a look at the price of doing so. I might be open to doing that evaluation. I simply can’t make that dedication till I see the numbers in entrance of me.
What would Crombie do about downloading?
You went to AMO (Affiliation of Municipalities of Ontario) conferences so much as a mayor and I’m certain while you met with provincial ministers, you most likely requested them concerning the imbalance in how a lot municipalities needed to pay for downloading and for the quantity for providers like housing, homelessness, asylum seekers, shelters — each federal and provincial obligations. Now, if you happen to, or while you, grow to be premier and you’ve got a majority Liberal authorities, will you do one thing to redress the steadiness so property taxpayers don’t should pay a lot for what are provincial obligations?
So, municipalities had been created at a time when Canada was largely an agrarian nation. And municipal budgets had been designed to pay for group providers like group centres and rinks and splash pads and libraries, after which they expanded to policing and public transit. At the moment, there was a lot downloading that municipalities are pressured to cope with advanced points that want a broader technique, like psychological well being, habit and homelessness points, shelters and asylum seekers, prisoner transport, and the downloading continues by the provincial authorities.
The downloading has to cease, however along with that, there must be a method for long-term sustainable funding for municipalities that’s completely different from what it’s as we speak as a result of the property tax invoice is basically very regressive and is punitive for households and municipalities as a result of they’re being pressured to deal with a lot, like funding in infrastructure and transit, and these are very massive, pricey, aspirational initiatives that their (municipal) budgets can’t deal with.
So, municipalities want different sources of income. That is one thing we will probably be discussing at AMO with the municipalities that come to go to us. We all know the Metropolis of Toronto has the (Metropolis of) Toronto Act which provides them the authority to lift revenues in numerous methods, and now the cities of Toronto and Ottawa have made offers with the provincial authorities to add some transit prices, that are a very good factor.
There are different cities, like Mississauga, or Brampton, or Hamilton or London, that run massive transit providers are nonetheless struggling as a result of it’s very pricey in your finances. Police providers are very pricey in your finances.
Would she alter strong-mayor powers?
Would you, as a brand new premier, do one thing about strong-mayor powers and convey ahead laws to both alter the Act in order that it solely applies to provincial priorities, and eliminate this case the place mayors are simply firing folks with none controls like we’ve seen in Mississauga and Caledon and Windsor and different locations? It looks like taxpayers are getting hammered with contracts, and severance packages. Would you do one thing about that?
Superb query. I gained’t converse of any particular municipality, nevertheless it’s one thing we have now to have a particular debate about. I sit up for the dialogue at AMO. As chair of (Ontario) Massive Metropolis Mayors, I might hear each views. There have been mayors who felt it was very undemocratic, who felt that they had been consensus builders, as I did, and I’ll reference an instance the place I did use strong-mayor powers, however these mayors didn’t see a cause to make use of these powers. Different mayors stated, , we have now a dysfunctional council and there’s a little bit block of councillors who at all times wish to appear to oppose the mayor and it’s onerous for us to get issues achieved in response to the agenda that we had been voted on. So there have been some blended emotions about it. However now that it’s been earlier than us for a yr, we see it in motion and it’s time for a pause and to re-evaluate it, as a result of they (mayors) are given three authorities: one is over finances, one is over hiring of the chief administrative officer and one is over provincial priorities.
After I used it, the one time I used it, it was to fulfill provincial priorities to introduce housing and mild density into communities, and it might have left $120 million in federal financing on the desk. Because it turned out, I used the strong-mayor powers to deliver again the movement on the ground to have one other open dialogue with council, as a result of the vote had been 5-5, so it fell primarily based on a tie vote — so once I introduced it again, with me within the chair, we handed it 8-4. We had some session round it to dispel some myths round it. So, I feel it simply requires consensus constructing and a few management.
What is going to you do particularly?
Round AMO, we’ll float it with municipalities. I used to be chair of the (Ontario) Massive Metropolis Mayors, and I’ve since met with the small mayors and small municipalities. The property tax base can’t help the sorts of applications residents are demanding, however downloading is part of that and, as an example, there (are) refined forms of downloading like group contribution for a neighborhood hospital. Municipalities, on the expense of their very own priorities, should give you their very own contributions, 10 per cent for native hospitals, and well being care is a provincial duty.
What are Crombie’s concepts to repair housing points?
What do you suppose must be achieved to enhance the scenario with the housing disaster? What does the federal government have to do, the provincial authorities have to do, that it isn’t doing? Invoice 23 has been used.
There have been so many bills, we will title all of them, 109 and 23, and 185, I don’t know, there are 5 – 6. So right here’s what we have to do, it’s quite simple: the three ranges of presidency and our companions — the home-building group, which is the event group — want to take a seat collectively and work this out. We’d like incentives to construct housing that’s inexpensive, we’d like incentives for purpose-built rental, we’d like the federal government to step up on deeply backed (housing). I’d prefer to see the federal government again within the co-op enterprise. I bear in mind within the ‘70s and ‘80s when the federal government invested in co-ops and how popular they were and how people competed to live in one of those co-ops.
So why is it different today? What’s modified?
Crombie: Authorities has left the constructing and administration of housing. They wish to fund it. However we have to have the companions, who’re the municipalities and the event group, on the desk to hammer out options. The truth is, this can be a very advanced problem, it’s not a easy resolution. You could have high-cost actual property, you could have labour points, you could have provide chain points and a scarcity of labour, abilities expertise, a scarcity of lumber and entry to it, that’s beginning to be addressed. There are excessive rates of interest, beginning to come down. It’s very advanced. Not one stage of presidency goes to unravel this on their very own. It’s not truthful to be villainizing a sector or blaming a stage of presidency for what’s not occurring. As an illustration, municipalities are being evaluated on housing begins. Municipalities problem permits. They don’t put shovels within the floor. One of many causes is the event group is sitting on these permits isn’t constructing is advanced.
These points must be addressed and we have to typically incentivize them higher if they’ll construct purpose-built rental or deeply inexpensive or deeply backed housing.
