David Rider with the Toronto Star:
Mayor Rob Ford, who campaigned on the city having a spending — not a revenue — problem, is asking the Ontario government for an injection of more than $150 million in the provincial budget expected in late March, the Star has learned.
In a four-page letter dated Jan. 25 sent by Ford to Ontario Finance Minister Dwight Duncan, and obtained by the Star, the mayor asks for money for road construction and repair, public transit projects, a Fort York visitor centre and the renewal of programs to fund subsidized child care, housing and services for immigrants.
via Ford asks province for more than $150M – thestar.com.
That the letter was dated January 25th indicates that Team Ford realized early on the depth of the city’s revenue problems. Funny that they haven’t really acknowledged these problems at all throughout the budget debate.
It’s hard to see this as anything other than an admission that Ford was entirely wrong about the fiscal state of the city during his campaign.
Tags: budget, provincial matters