Ontario reaches 'new deal' with City of Ottawa to take over certain costs
Ontario has reached a "new deal" with the City of Ottawa that will see the province take over certain major costs in exchange for the municipality encouraging more housing development and minimizing taxation.
The province announced Thursday that it will take over ownership of Highway 174, support the repairs of major connecting roads and open a new police station downtown.
"We're announcing a new deal for Ottawa that will help the city continue rebuilding the economy and deliver on key priorities, including building highways and homes," Premier Doug Ford said in Ottawa at a breakfast chat with Mayor Mark Sutcliffe.
Ford said the deal reflects the city’s unique position as the country’s capital and eastern Ontario’s economic engine.
The province will give the city $546 million in a 10-year deal to help its economic recovery and revitalization. Ford said some of the money will also go to hiring more police officers.
"This is a big win for Ottawa," Sutcliffe said.
The funding will "relieve significant budget pressures" and allow for the delivery of better services to residents, the mayor said.
A tranche of money will also go toward conditional funding for emergency shelters, the design and construction of an interchange on Highway 416 in the suburbs, and a transitway.
Ontario said the city has made a number of "reciprocal commitments" to the province, including opening up land for housing development, strengthening the vacant home tax and minimizing taxation.
Ford and Sutcliffe also called on the federal government to "do its part to help revitalize the downtown economy."
In particular, the premier called on the federal government to have its workforce return to the office for more days per week.
"They have to get people back to work," Ford said. "Even like three days, anything. It sounds crazy: I'm begging people to go to work for three days, not that they aren't working at home, but it really affects that downtown."
Last fall, Ford announced a deal with the City of Toronto that saw the province take over ownership and operational costs of two highways as the city faced a $1.5-billion shortfall for 2024.
Ford said both Ottawa and Toronto have "unique" challenges that necessitated a new deal, but he said similar deals for other cities aren't in the offing because the province "pours money" into other municipalities across the province.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published March 28, 2024.
Liam Casey, The Canadian Press
