Markham, Stouffville receive $7.6M in Safe Restart emergency assistance

Funding negotiated through provincial-federal agreement to help municipalities provide critical public services in face of reduced revenues

Yorkregion.com
August 17, 2020
Heidi Riedner

Markham and Whitchurch-Stouffville will receive more than $7.6 million in emergency assistance to address municipal operating pressures related to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The funding, part of the Ontario and federal governments’ Safe Restart Agreement, will be broken down into two parts for each region with $695 million earmarked for municipal operating expenditures tied to the pandemic, while $660 will fund regional transit in 110 municipalities with transit systems.

The lion's share of the money will go to the City of Markham, which will receive $6,657,700 in September. The Town of Whitchurch-Stouffville will receive $1,000,000.

“Announcements like this one, coupled with the child care funding announced on Aug. 7, are clear demonstrations that Ontario is committed to working with the federal government of Canada to ensure local communities receive the resources they need to provide important services during the COVID-19 pandemic,” Markham-Stouffville MPP Paul Calandra said in a statement Aug. 12.

Queen’s Park has also set aside $212 million for the entire province to help the social services relief fund find shelter for vulnerable people in Ontario.

Ontario received $4 billion of the total $19 billion in funding Ottawa announced July 16 it would be providing across Canada to help communities "build back up" from the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The province will divide the money among Ontario's 444 municipalities in two phases under a "one-time" relief package.

The money comes on the heels of other supports during the pandemic, including enabling municipalities to hold virtual council and local board meetings, as well as temporarily extending expiring development charge bylaws to ensure they could continue to collect the vital source of revenue.

Markham Mayor Frank Scarpitti said the $17 million the government is also investing in transit funding to offset operational losses due to low ridership and enhanced cleaning protocols is "welcome news" for Markham taxpayers.

The funding, as well as service changes by YRT Viva, "almost covers" the increased operating deficits due the pandemic, he added.