Local politicians last line of defence

By Brad Cicero

There truly is a revolution taking place in Ontario.

The upcoming municipal elections are arguably the most important ever held in this province. On Nov. 10, voters will be choosing much more than a mayor, regional councillor or school board trustee. They will be choosing a last line of defence against provincial government spending cuts.

The election is an opportunity to choose strong local politicians who will stand up for Ottawa with some backbone against provincial funding polices.

The battle between the province and municipalities is over downloading of services. This translates into local governments acting as the new guardians of services like property tax assessment and social housing, previously controlled by the province. In return, the province takes control of education, a crown jewel program.

This salvo exchange is supposed to wash out in terms of taxpayer dollars according to the Tories. Estimates of a $25 to $49 million hit will be taken by the region, but the province says this will be offset by operational savings.

Regional councillors Wendy Stewart and Alex Munter aren’t so sure about this math. They estimate the region will go anywhere from $77 to $90 million in the hole, while the city will lose almost $6 million in provincial grants.

Responsibilities like ambulance service and property taxes will add to the municipal burden. These will be controlled by the province, but run locally. So, any decisions affecting the cost of these services will be made in Toronto, but paid for by municipalities.

After estimates of a $250 a year property tax increase for Ottawa citizens, Regional Chair Peter Clark now says taxes won’t go up. This is based on a promise from Mike Harris that the province will pay for any transfer of services.

However, this doesn’t account for the elimination of provincial grants or the transfer of provincial road costs to the region. City taxes also aren’t included, so Ottawa taxpayers can expect to pay something in the end.

Clark shouldn’t be using what amounts to a political promise from Harris to look good in an election campaign.

Other famous tax promises by governments include, “We promise to get rid of the GST,” and, “Income tax will only be temporary.” These taxes are now a part of our culture.

The true numbers are impossible to know when it comes to how much all of this trading of services will eventually cost. One flip through the pocket-sized book How to Lie with Statistics will reveal hundreds of ways to make the numbers work for you. The wide variety in the statistics of downloading show that someone isn’t telling the truth, we just don’t know who.

Local politicians need to ask tough questions of the provincial government like, “How will downloading affect program and service delivery?” and “How will property tax bills change?”

It’s time for voters to say just how much “common sense” they think is behind the revolution. We need to elect local politicians who won’t play possum and get buried in the downloading process.