How much will the property tax increase in Toronto next year? Zou Zhihui responded: Please be prepared

Toronto's mayor, Olivia Chow, said she never imagined a year ago that she would lead Canada's largest city. This time last December, John Tory had just begun his third term as mayor, having been re-elected in the 2022 municipal elections.

Source: CP24

Two months later, Mr. Chong resigned after admitting to having an inappropriate relationship with a city worker, and a mayoral by-election was held, with Ms. Chow winning as mayor of Toronto last summer.

Five months into her tenure, Zou spoke to CP24 on Friday, reviewing what she has already done and what she wants to accomplish next year, including whether she plans to raise property taxes.

CP24: You've been begging for much-needed funding from the provinces, the federal government for almost the last few months. Many times, the budget is not enough for you and you have to make concessions. I was thinking about the Ontario Place deal and you had to give up. Are you still fighting for that money, is that frustrating you?

Zou Zhihui: No. When I took office, there was a huge gap of 1.5 billion yuan, a big hole. So I thought, 'Oh my gosh, I don't want to cut the TTC anymore.'" In fact, I've invested in more TTC services and hired more people because our city is growing. We can't cut public transport or anything like that. So, it was very difficult to come to a new agreement to hand over Gardiner and DVP to the provincial government, which we have been trying for decades and finally done.

As for Ontario Place, we didn't give them land. We didn't give Prime Minister Ford the zoning permission he needed. He just does it by legislating, and he has the power to do so.

CP24: Do you feel like you're living up to people's expectations because someone is counting on you to fight for it?

Zou Zhihui: If you can fight and win, that's a good thing. But if you know you're going to lose, we just don't have the power to do it. I consulted with a lawyer beforehand. I said, "Can we resist? Is it possible for them to confiscate the land?" (they said) "Yes, they can." "Can they override the zoning laws?" (they said) "Yes, they can." I thought, "Oh, okay. How long can we fight in court?" (they said) "a day or two. "Will we lose?" (they said) "Yes, absolutely." "Can we appeal?" (they said) "Yes, but you will also lose, and they will do what they want during the appeal." ”

But somehow, I'm a very pragmatic person. I want the city to be better, so you see that we're getting a lot of investment in building housing. We have a master plan to build 65,000 rental housing units to provide people with rent control. Now that we've got funding from the federal and provincial governments, we can start building, building, building so that people can live more affordably when they pay their rent.

CP24: That's a very real question. Someone slept on the sidewalk. As mayor, this is not a no-go. When the federal government was asked about it, they were noncommittal. As the leader of the city, does this give you insomnia at night?

Zhihui Zou: It makes me sleepless and makes me sad because I promised in front of a lot of refugees in church that I would do everything I could to make sure there was a refugee shelter program. Now, the city is busy opening a winter shelter, a better living center. We are opening as many shelters as we can. We have a housing subsidy. We bring people home from shelters. There is hope for some, however, because the number of refugees has been increasing, increasing, and now there are more than 5,000 refugees living in our shelters. We had to refuse them because our shelters were full.

So, yes, it's painful, and my conversation with the Prime Minister (Justin Trudeau) yesterday gave me some hope.

He said he understood the plight of the people. He knew he needed to do something. I asked him, when?

CP24: A question you've been asked so many times. When can it be done and how much will it cost?

Zou Zhihui: I know. I'll find out. We'll find out. The average Toronto said loudly, "Hey, Toronto, we take good care of each other." "Especially newcomers, because our cities were built by newcomers. Many of them live in war-torn countries or with many problems. So here we are, let's take better care of each other. I think the voice is so loud, so enduring and so hopeful, that I really believe the Prime Minister will hear it.

[Will Zou Zhihui raise the property tax]

CP24: Looking ahead to 2024, it's no secret that Toronto needs more budget. You've been talking about huge deficits. This is still a problem. You were not afraid to talk about raising property taxes during the campaign. You don't make promises about a number. You've been in the office for a long time. You've already looked at the budget. Will you promise a growth number, and what comfort and anticipation can you give Toronontonians the year ahead?

Zou Zhihui: We have told the speculators that if you leave a house vacant, we will charge you more. For those who buy a very expensive home, whether it's 3 million, 5 million, 10 million or 20 million, we will charge you more. So we've done that. We've got a budget in place. People tell us what they care about until January······

CP24: But will property taxes go up?

Chow Chi Wai: The budget committee will listen to more opinions from the community and formulate a budget. We've just listened to people. We also need to create a budget, and that's what's happening.

CP24: However, based on what you've seen, people are struggling right now. Now there's an affordability crisis, so people are thinking, should I be prepared for an increase in property taxes?

Zhihui Zou: Yes, I think you should be prepared, but don't worry. Our budget committee and city staff are committed to creating a budget. You will hear the presentation on January 10th. I do not want to interfere with the ongoing work of the staff and the Budget Committee. I will then present my budget on February 1 and final approval will take place on February 14. Therefore, all this will be resolved in mid-February.