Toronto voters — at least a small group of woke fools — asked for it and they got it.
Fresh from her incompetent mishandling of the pro-Hamas apologists, who’ve hijacked Toronto with their vitriolic protests over the past three months, socialist mayor Olivia Chow introduced her 2024 budget with a 10.5% tax hike Tuesday.
I wish I could say I’m surprised. But I knew from years of watching her that this tax-and-spend politician, who’s always lived off the public teat, would be terrible for Toronto’s bottom line.
And I guess her equally incompetent predecessor, John Tory, kind of set the stage in 2022 with his 7% tax hike.
That’s an extra $321 per year for what city officials say is an average home valued at $694,381.
Let’s be real here. Unless you’re talking about a 400-square-foot box in the sky, how many Toronto homes are valued at $694,381?
Let’s also put her increase in context, considering the fawning legacy media never will.
This is over and above the late November agreement by the province to upload the Gardiner Expressway and the Don Valley Parkway, which represents $3 billion in capital support over three years and $1.2 billion in operating dollars or $385 million this year.
The garbage and water rates are also going up 3% each, which is not included in the tax hike. Former socialist mayor David Miller — a likeminded tax-and-spender — took those entities off the operating budget in 2005 to make the tax hike seem smaller.
The tax hike will bring in an extra $378 million, not including the building fund levy.
But none of that is enough to a socialist whose Sanctuary City budget talks about welcoming more refugees and asylum seekers with open arms to the tune of $250 million.
That brings the number of shelter beds to 10,600. That’s a 41% increase since 2020 for what is supposed to be an emergency response only. That’s why I’ve always called it a homeless industry.
Do any of our politicians ever say, “No, we can’t accommodate anymore?”
The budget says if money is not forthcoming from the federal government, an additional 6% tax hike could be in order!
By contrast, there is little reference to public safety except to give more money to Chow’s community crisis response team — a socialist dream that will do nothing to tackle or counter the rise in violent crime and the in-your-face violent protests by the pro-Hamas apologists.
But even worse, Chow and the defund-the-police types on council have no concern about bringing more unvetted asylum seekers into the city with no more police to address the influx.
What possibly could go wrong?!
The budget presentation starts off by saying the goal is to get the city “back on track to a financially stable and sustainable future.”
What a laugh.
I have repeatedly have said and continue to have no doubt that under the socialist regime of Olivia Chow, our tax dollars will be directed to bike lanes, not-so-affordable housing, costly shelter beds and other touchy-feely leftist pet projects that will allow the selected few to benefit, but will do nothing to improve the quality of life for average citizens.
I’m predicting now Toronto will continue to decline and her budget decisions will come with a huge price — sacrificing safety in favor of welcoming more people who do nothing to contribute to the city’s coffers.
But I also predict that those who did not vote for this tax-and-spend socialist will vote with their feet — choosing to sell their homes and leave Toronto.
