Ontario Provides Additional Support for Brampton During COVID-19

Financial relief will help ensure the delivery of critical services and keep capital projects on track

THE VOICE OF CANADA – BRAMPTON — The Ontario government is providing $14,697,948 to help Brampton address ongoing COVID-19-related operating costs. The new financial relief will help ensure the delivery of critical services during the pandemic and keep capital projects on track.

“This much needed additional support funding for the City of Brampton will address ongoing COVID-19 related operational costs to ensure the delivery of critical services,” said Amarjot Sandhu, Member of Provincial Parliament for Brampton West, “this ensures we keep capital projects on track to maintain stability as we plan for the year ahead.”

“We know that Brampton needs ongoing operating funding support during the COVID-19 pandemic, said Prabmeet Sarkaria, Minister of Small Business and Red Tape Reduction and Member of Provincial Parliament for Brampton South. “This new financial relief will help ensure the delivery of critical services and keep capital projects on track
in the City of Brampton.”

The announcement is part of the province’s $500 million investment to help ensure the stability of Ontario’s 444 municipalities as they plan for the year ahead. The funding is being prioritized to help municipalities hardest hit by the pandemic and can be used for things like personal protective equipment, cleaning supplies and by-law enforcement.

“Our government continues to adapt and respond to the COVID-19 pandemic as it evolves, and we know our municipal partners are on the front lines of this effort –providing the critical services people depend on every day,” said Steve Clark, Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing. “Our municipalities have been clear that they need ongoing operating funding in 2021, and it is important that we step up and provide that
support so our municipal partners can continue to deliver the services Ontarians rely on each and every day.”

This provincial investment builds on the $1.39 billion in operating funding that was provided to municipal partners through the joint federal-provincial Safe Restart Agreement. The second phase of the Safe Restart Agreement was allocated to all Ontario municipalities in December, to ensure that no community entered 2021 facing an operating deficit from 2020.

“Municipalities are important partners in the fight against COVID-19,” said Peter Bethlenfalvy, Minister of Finance and President of the Treasury Board. “We know the global pandemic has created significant financial challenges for communities across the province. That’s why we have been there with support from the very beginning. I encourage our federal partners to step forward with additional investments as all three
governments work together to protect people’s health and jobs.”

QUICK FACTS

• The government will provide its next update on Ontario’s finances and the government’s
• plan to continue the fight against COVID-19 in the 2021 Budget, to be delivered no later
• than March 31, 2021. The 2021 Budget will build on the $45 billion in support set out in
• Ontario’s Action Plan: Protect, Support, Recover to continue protecting people’s health
• and supporting Ontario’s economy through COVID-19 and beyond.
• Ontario is also supporting municipalities in finding budget savings and efficiencies
• through the Audit and Accountability Fund and Municipal Modernization Program.
• See how your organization can help fight COVID-19