Metamorphosis has outlined its analysis in our recent submission on the legislation. Please feel free to use the template below as a resource to help shape your own comments.
Hon. Peter Bethlenfalvy,
Minister of Finance,
Frost Bldg S, 7th Flr,
7 Queen’s Park Cres.
Toronto, Ontario
M7A 1Y7
Dear Minister Bethlenfalvy,
As nonprofit community service agencies in Peel Region, we serve a highly diverse community. The people we serve have come from all over the world to make Canada their home, they speak scores of languages and are building a thriving, dynamic community.
But like all Ontarians, they rely on local community services in many aspects of their lives. Whether it’s childcare, education, youth programs, seniors care, employment programs, mental health care or affordable housing, from time to time we all count on local services.
In addition to the work we do to provide supports and needed services for residents of Mississauga, Brampton and Caledon, our organization is one of the over 100 nonprofits who are a part of the Metamorphosis Network. We are acutely aware, from our own work and from the work of Metamorphosis, that the services in our region are underfunded. We get less funding from the Ontario Government than other parts of the province, and that means longer wait lists for the people who are trying to access services, less care for those who are already getting help, and gaps in programs that leave people stranded.
But Minister, you already know that. Last year, during the budget hearings, you came to Peel and said, unequivocally, that you knew that Peel was underfunded.
Last spring, the Metamorphosis Network released an independent study by Blueprint ADE that showed that the Ontario Government invests $568 less per person in community services in Peel than they do in the average Ontario community. That means that the people of Mississauga, Brampton and Caledon are left $868 million underfunded, every year.
Minister, for some time you have known that there is a problem, and know how big it is.
These are services that local residents pay with their provincial taxes but are not being funded by the province. Over the last few years, the local governments have had to try to fill the gap the province has left. They have taken an extra $138 out of the property tax base to pay for services that get funded by Queen’s Park in other towns and cities.
That’s not fair to the people of Peel, and it’s time for this problem to be solved.
Minister, we know that your government didn’t create this problem. It has been an issue for many years across many governments. But as your government approaches its 7th year in office, it is certainly time you fixed it.
People in our community are counting on you to address it in this budget.
No one expects a solution to happen overnight, but we do expect progress.
We expect, in this budget, that the Minister will:
1) Acknowledge that our communities are underfunded and pledged to fix it
2) Strike a working group that includes local government, local nonprofits and the province to identify how to restore fair funding to Peel, and
3) Make a good faith down payment on that plan by increasing funding for community services in Peel this year.
Please give the people in Peel cause to welcome this next budget, by making those commitments and taking the first steps toward setting this right.
Sincerely,
Sean Meagher
Coordinator
Metamorphosis Network
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HOW TO SUBMIT FEEDBACK
To submit your feedback, you can:
- Complete an online survey.
- Submit a written response online.
- Mail your comments directly to the Ontario government.
For detailed instructions on how to submit your feedback, visit the Ontario Budget Consultations Submission Process.
The deadline for submissions is February 3, 2025.
