Bradley is asking for the province to cover $5.2 million in new costs. Pictured: Regional Chair Jim Bradley. Photo Credit: Niagara Region.
Niagara Regional Chair Jim Bradley is calling on the Ford government to provide increased funding to cover the cost of police services, following the Region’s passage of the 2025 budget. The budget includes a property tax increase of 9.6 per cent, partially driven by a police budget increase of over 13 per cent.
Bradley is blaming some of the increased police costs on new provincial legislation. The Community Safety and Policing Act includes requirements that have led Niagara Regional Police to have to hire additional staff for the training unit, purchase new munitions, and extend certain types of training.
The legislation itself is a major overhaul of Ontario’s original 34-year-old law governing policing in the province.
The province recently announced $77 million in funding to help municipalities served by the Ontario Provincial police cover increased costs related to the legislation. Bradley argues that municipalities that don’t use the OPP, including Niagara Region, should be similarly compensated.
Last year, Niagara Region and the Police Board agreed to transfer $1.9 million out of an operating surplus into a contingency reserve to help pay for increased policing expenses.
The new legislation has increased costs for Niagara Region by $5.2 million, Bradley argues. He says the costs are currently being “borne by property taxpayers in Niagara,” but insists that the province should step in to cover the costs.
Bradley is not arguing against the program changes made by the legislation, but rather is taking issue with the province over the lack of funding for certain municipalities.
“The costs associated with these changes, as the subsequent property tax increases the Region must make to cover them, are making it even more difficult for Niagara’s residents to pay their bills and are contributing to the unaffordability crisis affecting all our municipalities,” said Bradley in a letter to Solicitor General Michael Kerzner.
Bradley is not alone in making this request: the Ontario Association of Chiefs of Police sent a similar letter in the spring asking for additional funding to be distributed in a fair manner.
Roger Wilkie, the President of the Ontario Association of Chiefs of Police, argued in a letter of his own that more long-term funding is needed for municipalities to “support the delivery of adequate and effective policing services.”
Wilkie specifically noted that “there is need for clarity and greater awareness around the financial drivers, costs and budget impacts related to delivering adequate and effective policing in today’s environment.”
Critics, like Bradley, argue that single-contract assistance delivered to just some Ontario municipalities won’t cut it.
It remains to be seen whether the provincial government will respond to the concerns articulated by Wilkie, Bradley, and many mayors across the province.
Jay Goldberg is the Ontario Director at the Canadian Taxpayers Federation. He previously served as a policy fellow at the Munk School of Public Policy and Global Affairs. Jay holds a Ph.D. in Political Science from the University of Toronto.
