For Immediate Release
August 10, 2020
GTHA Mayors and Chairs applaud residents for ongoing progress during Stage 3
“Today, Mayors and Chairs from the 11 largest municipal governments across the Greater Toronto and Hamilton Area met to discuss their ongoing response to Stage 3.
All parts of the GTHA are now in Stage 3 and seeing the number of new COVID-19 cases continuing to decline.
Municipalities across the GTHA have moved based on public health advice to put in place bylaws/orders, including mandatory masks and face covering rules, to help stop the spread of the virus. We thank the vast majority of residents for working with us to follow public health advice. All Mayors and Chairs noted ongoing positive compliance with public health regulations in their municipalities. That cooperation must continue in order to ensure we have a safe and successful restart and recovery.
While it is still early in Stage 3, we know this is a marathon not a sprint and our collective success depends on the cooperation of our residents. The Mayors and Chairs committed to continuing to work with the province to address any issues arising in Stage 3 that could threaten our progress.
The GTHA economy is crucial to Ontario and Canada’s economy and we know our economy’s success relies on a successful Stage 3.
To support that success, we know the federal and provincial governments have agreed to the Safe Restart Agreement. We look forward to receiving more details on the financial allocations to municipalities flowing from this agreement as soon as possible so that we can protect our frontline services as we prepare to move into the fall and we appreciate the recognition of our needs as cities and regions by the federal and provincial governments.
We also began discussions on our respective 2021 budgets today as COVID-19 is highly likely to be a continuing reality next year and we remain committed to working together to determine how best to address these challenges.
We look forward to working together on all fronts and to leading a solid, fair recovery across the GTHA which helps get people back to work and back to a more normal, safe and healthy life.”
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