The provincial and federal governments have joined forces to provide $4 billion in urgently needed, one-time assistance to Ontario's 444 municipalities.
The funding, which was announced Monday, will help local governments maintain services people rely on every day, including public transit, over the next six to eight months.
What the City of Barrie's slice of the pie will be remains to be seen.
Details on where the how and where the money will be allocated is expected to be announced in the coming weeks.
Barrie Mayor Jeff Lehman told BarrieToday the announcement was "excellent news" and he looked forward to finding out more details when they become available.
“The $4 billion in funding roughly matches the Ontario share of the requested funds of $10 billion Canada-wide and means Barrie and other cities may be able to avoid major tax increases or service cuts to make up for COVID-related impacts,” Lehman said.
“As always, the devil is in the details, so we look forward to learning what the allocations will be, but it is certainly a relief that our voice was finally heard," the mayor added.
Back in April, city officials were projecting $65 million in lost revenue by year's end due to COVID-19. Where that figure stands today still needs to be worked out at city hall, now that some municipal services have restarted.
"City staff are working on the forecasts for the next quarter and hope to have some additional information to share with council in the fall," said Dawn McAlpine, the city's general manager of community and corporate services.
"We are waiting for further details on the funding from the federal/provincial governments," she added.
The new funding announced this week is part of the province's "made-in-Ontario plan for renewal, growth and economic recovery." It includes $777 million from the federal government and $1.22 billion from the province in financial support for municipalities.
Provincial officials say they will continue to work closely with municipalies to ensure this funding provides the support they need to address budget shortfalls related to COVID-19.
"By working together, we have united the country in the face of the immense challenges brought on by COVID-19 and secured a historic deal with the federal government to ensure a strong recovery for Ontario and for Canada," Premier Doug Ford said in a release.
"Ontario's municipalities are the backbone of our great province," said Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing Steve Clark. "Our government is committed to working hand-in-hand with our municipal partners to help them emerge stronger and enable them to lead economic recovery in every community. And the funding we are announcing ... will play a critical role in that."
A deal for public transit funding was also secured as part of the federal-provincial agreement. Up to $2 billion will be shared equally between Ontario and the federal government.
The Safe Restart Agreement will also help ensure a "strong and safe recovery" for Ontario through investments in testing, contact tracing and data management, health-care capacity and mental health, protecting vulnerable people, including those experiencing homelessness and seniors in long-term care facilities, securing personal protective equipment (PPE), child care for returning workers, and support for municipalities and public transit systems.
