The Ontario government will absorb more than $935 million in social services costs from municipalities, Premier Dalton McGuinty announced Monday.

The Liberal premier unveiled the four-year program during the first day of the annual conference of the Association of Municipalities of Ontario in Ottawa that ends Wednesday.

Ontario Premier Dalton McGuinty will announce the funds for cities during the first day of the annual conference of the Association of Municipalities of Ontario.
(Ryan Taplin/Canadian Press)

Many municipalities have complained about the financial burden of the social service and health responsibilities transferred to them under former premier Mike Harris.

McGuinty said the previous Conservative government's decision to download the costs to municipalities was "one of the worst misjudgments" it made.

"They've been a burden to every municipality and we're taking them back in full," he said in a statement.

Under the plan, Queen's Park will take on the costs — called uploading — of the Ontario Disability Support payments and the Ontario Drug Benefit Plan starting in January if the McGuinty Liberals win re-election on Oct. 10.

New Democrat Leader Howard Hampton announced last week that, if elected, he would upload some transit costs, court costs and disability assistance, phasing it in over three years.

He said neither he nor the electorate would be pleased with the McGuinty announcement.

"For four years, Dalton McGuinty claimed Ontario couldn't help cash-strapped municipalities — now he claims he has a plan. Ontario families won't be impressed by pre-election Band-Aid solutions," Hampton said.

Conservative Leader John Tory has said he will wait for recommendations from a municipal review team, reporting next year, before he talks about what specific burdens should be lifted from the municipal tax base.

Toronto will still be short $575M

Despite standing to gain more than $35 million in the first year of the four-year program, the City of Toronto will still be short $575 million next year.

The cash-strapped city has considered cutting services such as litter cleanup and snow removal along with cuts to police services and the TTC to help cover the budget shortfall.

Toronto budget chief Shelley Carroll said she would like to see the money from the province sooner.

"I'm disappointed to hear of the phase-in," she told CBC News. "They can afford to do it all right now for every municipality in Ontario."

Ontario Finance Minister Greg Sorbara said Friday the province's surplus for the 2006-2007 fiscal year is $2 billion more than he predicted in his spring budget.

He said the extra money would be used towards provincial debt, not to bail out the City of Toronto.

With files from the Canadian Press