Toronto city council releases its budget today, and CCPA-Ontario has been on the case for years. Here are some of our office's recommendations:
- In January 2015, senior economist Sheila Block explored the revenue tools available to the city in her report Toronto's Taxing Question [2] and explained her findings in the Toronto Star [3]. She also urged city council to reinstate the vehicle registration tax, [4] along with implementing other revenue options.
- David Campanella assessed the value of private and semi-private waste collection in the city in his report More Headaches than it's Worth [5], published in June 2015.
- In early 2016, Sheila told the Toronto Star it was "do or die time" [6] for city council when it came to choosing revenue options. During the budget debates, she went on CBC's Metro Morning to explain why [7]. In an editorial [8], the Toronto Star echoed her earlier recommendation on the vehicle registration tax.
- In a Toronto Star op-ed [9] this summer, Sheila Block said that new revenue options — not more service cuts — are the only sustainable options before city council this year. And last month, she analyzed the possible impact of selling off Toronto Hydro [10].