Eyes at City Hall turn to Queen's Park after council asks for sales tax

After a marathon Toronto council meeting this week to address the city's deep financial crisis, focus now shifts to Queen's Park to see if Premier Doug Ford's government will approve a controversial request for a municipal sales tax.

Experts who closely follow municipal politics say they'll be watching how Toronto politicians make their case to Ford and the political headwinds they encounter. Mayor Olivia Chow was positive, if candid, in her speech to fellow councillors just moments ahead of the vote to endorse the request for a sales tax. 

Part of the solution to address Toronto's $46.5 billion in budget pressure over the next decade is out of the city's hands, the new mayor conceded.

"We'll see what kind of campaign we can put together," Chow said. "It's not up to us to decide, it's up to the provincial and the federal government." 

On Wednesday, council endorsed a plan to implement some tax measures immediately, study others, and make the sales tax request of the province. But council added a new caveat to its request, and is now asking the province to also consider giving Toronto a cut of the harmonized sales tax (HST) as an alternative to the municipal sales tax.

Former city councillor Joe Mihevc said the change could be important because instead of asking the tax-averse Ford to give Toronto permission to levy a new fee, he would be sharing the revenue from something people already pay. 

"It makes political sense, which is probably the most important point for this provincial government, that you asked for an existing penny, rather than a new tax," he said.

Mihevc said Chow's hints about a broader campaign to convince Ford to help the city could be in the early stages of development. It could come by way of a combined public relations blitz and personal influence campaigns between councillors and their elected counter-parts at the provincial level, he said.

"It's not just advocacy, it's not just a campaign where we're holding placards," he said. "It's sitting down with folks and educating folks and showing them the books … and saying this doesn't make sense."

But Mihevc said he's still not convinced Ford will grant Toronto permission to levy the tax or grant the city a cut of the HST.

"My crystal ball says that it might be a bridge too far for this premier," he said. "That doesn't mean you don't make the attempt. And it doesn't mean you don't do the campaign." 

City council may have to take a long-term view on the request, he said. 

"You might not score the goal with this premier. You might set the stage for a new government at a later point of getting that tool implemented," he added.

But with a provincial surplus of over $20 billion and his government embroiled in a scandal over Greenbelt development, the premier could try to change the channel on that controversy.