Ravages of COVID-19 hit Mississauga City Hall—2,000 part-time and non-essential employees to be laid off

On the same day Mississauga Mayor Bonnie Crombie took to the national airwaves, imploring her residents to straighten their backs and do everything possible to slow the spread of COVID-19, she had to announce some bad news to employees of the corporation that carries out her decisions. Some 2,000 are being laid off.

“This is a very difficult decision and certainly not one that was taken lightly,” Crombie said in a statement released Friday afternoon, detailing the mass lay-off. “The City is facing significant financial pressures as a result of this pandemic and we are taking action to respond to the facility closures and their impact on our operations. I understand the stress this decision will have on our employees. We will continue to be in communication with those impacted and have extended our employee and family assistance program to all staff during this difficult time.”

Mississauga Mayor Bonnie Crombie

With massive service closures, many due to provincially mandated measures to slow the spread of COVID-19, all the city's libraries, community centres and playgrounds have been shutdown. Hundreds of librarians and other workers have been ordered not to go into work since Queen’s Park announced the sweeping measures more than a week ago.

With the loss of revenue from user fees, including transit fares which are no longer being collected while bus service is free, the City’s bottom line was facing an increasingly bleak reality. And with increased costs for things such as extensive sanitary measures in all operating city facilities, as well as other stepped-up protocols for cleaning buses, on top of a three-month property tax deferral and other breaks being offered to help home owners and businesses, the fiscal hit has been adding up quickly.

“As a result, the City of Mississauga has made the difficult decision to temporarily lay off approximately 2,000 part-time employees in non-essential services,” the release states. The layoffs are effective as of April 17.

“When we began to adjust our City services and programming to mitigate the risks of COVID-19, we hoped the shutdown would be short lived,” said City Manager and CAO Janice Baker, whose steady hand has guided the municipality for more than 15 years. She is set to retire later in the year and has likely never dealt with a situation so extreme.

“With the recent extension of the Provincial Emergency, it seems likely that our facilities will be closed for some time,” she added. And that was before an alarming announcement Friday afternoon by the province which released projections for the impact of COVID-19 across Ontario. The numbers are daunting: 80,000 cases by the end of the month and 1,600 deaths, under the current safety measures. Those scary forecasts could be significantly reduced with more deeply felt mitigation measures by Queen’s Park, but the writing is on the wall—closures could be in place for months.

“The lay-offs are a direct result of City program cancellations and facility closures, not having work available for part-time employees during the shut-down of non-essential services, and the severe financial pressures we are seeing on our 2020 financial results,” Baker explained. “I am very much aware of the stress and anxiety that this news may cause our employees. This decision, in no way reflects the value and respect we have for our employees and the work they perform. As soon as we are able, we will be recalling our part-time staff back to work.”

The statement highlighted consultations with the Region of Peel’s Chief Medical Officer of Health, and the decision to keep city facilities and programs closed “until further notice”.

Most of the lay-offs will hit part-time staff who usually work at community centres, libraries and cultural facilities that could remain closed well into the spring, possibly longer.

Employees who are eligible can receive employment insurance or assistance through the Canada Emergency Response Benefit. “The City of Mississauga is currently awaiting approval from Service Canada to provide a 75 per cent top up to employees who qualify to receive benefits through federal benefit programs,” the release stated.

Essential services will not be impacted

Essential services will not be impacted by the mass layoff. Fire, Transit, Works Operations and Maintenance, 311 and Dispatch, Parks and Forestry, Animal Services, Regulatory Services, Building Permits/Inspections, Site Plan Applications, Official Plan Amendments and Rezoning Planning Applications, Security Services as well as Administrative/Technical functions will all continue, as many staff will remain at home while they work.

Crombie said the city expects to move back to “business as usual” when the pandemic has passed its most dangerous phase.

Email: [email protected]

Twitter: @JoeljWittnebel

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