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The gap keeps growing

December 4, 2017   ·   0 Comments

HARDLY A DAY GOES BY without our hearing Toronto politicians complain about congestion and castigate Queen’s Park for not doing enough to help.

But those of us living in the real world know full well that Torontonians are paying only half as much property taxes as residents of this part of the province, and now we see that the gap is about to get even bigger.

Mayor John Tory, who once represented us at Queen’s Park, boasted Monday that Toronto’s proposed 2018 operating budget would boost city spending by less than 1 per cent, and any property tax hike will be at or below the current inflation rate, thanks in part to a $141.8 million operating surplus from this year.

His remarks came during a speech to the Canadian Club the same day Orangeville Council managed to trim its 2018 budget to the point where our beleagured property owners will face a local tax hike of a little over 3.6 per cent, because of the need to have the sort of adequate, round-the-clock fire protection that Torontonians have always enjoyed.

And don’t hold your breath waiting for politicians of any party to recognize a need to address the problem. There are too many votes in Hogtown and too few here.

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