There's only one taxpayer (and I think it's me)

If there's anything apart from hockey that unites all Canadians, it's hatred and contempt for Toronto.  When I lived in that city I never quite understood it, but from where I sit now, it's getting to be a lot easier to figure it out.

Toronto bureaucrats are now estimating that the total clean-up costs for two major weather-related emergencies in the past six months -- the ice storm just before Christmas, and a flash flood back in July 2013 -- will be around $170 million.  And they don't want to pay for it, so they're casting around for someone else to pick up the tab.  The Province of Ontario?  The federal government?  Pony up, guys!

Now, it's true that whenever there's a big natural disaster in the United States -- Superstorm Sandy is a recent example -- the local government quickly declares an emergency in order to qualify for federal disaster relief. In principle there's nothing wrong with asking your bigger brothers for a helping hand.  In the case of Toronto, however, it makes a bit less sense.  With a population of about 5 million*, the Greater Toronto Area constitutes the lion's share of the population and economy of Ontario.  What's more, the average income in the city itself is significantly higher than in the rest of the Province.

What this means is that if Ontario does step in, any funds it provides will in fact be monies raised from Toronto area taxpayers in the first instance, and from less wealthy taxpayers in the rest of the Province in the second.  Toronto politicians must surely realise this, so why are they even thinking about asking?  The answer is that thanks to Rob Ford, no politician in Toronto dares even to talk about raising taxes if he or she wants to be re-elected.  Property taxes in Toronto are far lower than in surrounding municipalities, a fact that is directly contributing to the city's decaying infrastructure.

Ontario Premier Kathleen Wynne should tell Toronto that if the city wants financial help, whether it be for emergency repair work or for transit improvements, it first needs to put up some money itself, even if that means it has to raise taxes.  Sad to say, with a provincial election probably coming before mid-year, she's very unlikely to say that.  Toronto will get its (i.e. my) money, and Rob Ford will carry his mendacious low tax mantra into October's municipal elections.

* The city of Toronto itself accounts for about 3 million of those; there are three other cities in the Toronto region (Mississauga, Brampton and Hamilton) that all have populations between 500,000 and one million.