Financial relief will soon be on the way for Canadian cities that are experiencing incurred expenses as a result of COVID-19.
Later today, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is expected to announce details of the federal government's plan to bring some financial relief to the towns and cities that have increased costs and plummeting revenues because of COVID-19, according to an exclusive report from the Toronto Star.
Toronto is said to be one of the cities to receive part of the relief package, as the city loses $65 million a week, $20 million of which comes from lost TTC revenue, while other funds are being lost through closures, decreased service demands, and property tax and utility payment deferrals.
Mayor John Tory previously revealed that in a worst case scenario, without proper financial relief from the federal government, Toronto could face a budget shortfall of nearly $2.8 billion as a result of COVID-19’s lasting impact on the city.
READ: Toronto Could Face Budget Shortfall of Nearly $2.8 Billion Because of COVID-19: Tory
Toronto is also set to receive nearly $8 million in federal funding to help its struggling tourism industry.
On Sunday morning, the federal government announced that it would be investing more than $70 million to support tourism programs around the country. The funding will be filtered through provincial marketing organizations to support the recovery of communities that depend on tourism all across the country.
Mélanie Joly, minister of economic development and official languages, said the federal government will be investing $7.9 million to support Tourism Toronto, as the city's travel and tourism-related activities have been brought to a standstill due to the COVID-19 pandemic, according to a report from CBC.
The funding will be delivered in partnership through FedDev Ontario and the Tourism Industry Association of Ontario is part of more than $70 million of federal support to tourism across the county.
