Stephen Dasko

On January 31st, Mississauga Council endorsed the City’s 2024 federal and provincial pre-budget submissions. The recommendations outlined in these submissions, if adopted, will ensure Mississauga remains a world-class and resilient City. Mississauga continues to advocate to the federal and provincial governments to address ongoing pressures, such as housing affordability, climate change, transit and active transportation, and growth, among other priorities.

“Providing necessary services and the high quality of life that residents expect remains a priority while we continue building a Mississauga that meets our growing City’s needs,” said Acting Mayor John Kovac. “While continuous improvement and innovation drive our efforts, we require assistance from other levels of government to enhance public transit, address the housing crisis, and build sustainable communities. Investing in dynamic cities like Mississauga strengthens our province and country. As we look toward the year ahead, I’m calling on our federal and provincial partners to continue to work with us to address our shared priorities. We can make an impact on people’s lives through collaboration and our shared commitment to address the pressures facing our communities.”

Mississauga’s pre-budget submissions include recommendations that will help address needs focused on building a twenty-first century city, including increasing housing affordability, alleviating financial pressures, investing in key rapid transit projects, mitigating climate change, and supporting the tourism sector.

Recommendations for 2024 include:

1. Compensating Mississauga for the impacts of housing legislation

• Work with Mississauga and other municipalities to understand the full cost of the Bill 23 changes and fully compensate cities for the financial losses incurred.
• Increase funding for housing infrastructure needed to meet the province’s housing targets and measure municipalities on units approved, not housing starts.
• Amend the Planning Act requirement regarding notices in print newspapers to reflect the realities of the decline of the print news industry in Ontario to reduce unnecessary costs on cities.

2. A new/fair deal for municipalities

• A new funding formula that fairly supports the building of twenty-first century cities, recognizing that the property tax is insufficient to address the growing pressures faced by Mississauga.
• Upload to the province the costs of operating the Hazel McCallion Hurontario LRT, similar to the arrangement in Toronto with the Finch West and Eglinton Crosstown LRTs.

3. Provincial support for key financial priorities

• Expedite the hiring of Justices of the Peace to support Mississauga’s Provincial Offences Act Court, reduce court backlogs, and increase revenue.
• That the province consult with Mississauga on the Greater Toronto
  Airports Authority payment in lieu of taxes formula before any decisions are made, in order to create a fair and equitable agreement that treats Mississauga’s resident and business taxpayers with respect.

4. Funding for Mississauga transit projects

• Move forward to expedite the reintroduction of a fully funded Downtown Loop to connect downtown Mississauga to the Hazel McCallion LRT, helping Mississauga to be a truly transit oriented city and reach the province’s housing targets.
• That the provincial government match the funding of the federal government ($500M) and bring all-day two-way service to the Milton GO line as soon as possible.
• That the government fund the detailed design for the Pearson Airport connection to facilitate planning, design and construction efficiencies with the current Eglinton Crosstown West Extension LRT project.
• The governments fund the implementation of the Downtown Mobility Hub and Transitway Connection.
• The Provincial government fund the Transit Project Assessment Process to plan for the next phase of the project westward.

5. Investments that make an impact on climate change

• Support to fund the construction of a zero-emission transit garage estimated at $500M.
• Provincial and Federal support to offset the cost premium of zero-emission buses.
• Government support for ready-to-deploy fueling infrastructure technologies.
• Create a separate fund for hydrogen technologies in transportation.
• Fund incentives and programs for adopting district energy and low-carbon technologies for buildings.

6. Supporting Mississauga tourism

• Funding to support the tourism industry’s continued recovery and policies and programs to address the ongoing labour shortage.

“For nearly two decades, the City of Mississauga has maintained a ‘AAA’ credit rating through efficient, lean and innovative practices. As a strong municipal partner with a growing economy, we deliver value for money and exceptional customer service while managing pressures like inflation and housing affordability,” said Shari Lichterman, City Manager and Chief Administrative Officer. “With costs increasing at a rate higher than the revenue we generate through property taxes and user fees, we need our federal and provincial partners to support our recommendations. Our responsibilities continue to grow. Continued collaboration across all levels of government is vital as we look at sustainable ways to tackle challenges and seize opportunities.”

Pre-budget submissions

The City is submitting its recommendations as part of the 2024 federal and provincial pre-budget consultations. Read the submissions to learn more:

• 2024 Federal Pre-Budget Submission
• 2024 Provincial Pre-Budget Submission