Police will get the money they're looking for in the 2024 budget, Mayor Chow says.

A day before Toronto City Council begins finalizing its 2024 budget, Mayor Olivia Chow has put a stop to one of the most controversial issues – how much money to allocate to the Toronto Police Service (TPS).

A lot of debate among the crowd, including a scowl after Toronto Police Association (TPA) advertising campaign, Chow confirmed to CityNews on Tuesday that police will receive the full amount of money they are seeking.

Chou said the last-second move came after the city received financial assistance from the provincial and federal governments. federal funds to fight auto theft to drive his point home.

“My initial concern was that I would have to cut some services to find the funds that the police needed, because we've maxed out our ability to find money from reserve funds,” Chow told CityNews.

“Recently, the federal and provincial governments have offered support to the City of Toronto because of special challenges or opportunities to protect this great city, so we can find funds so other services don't have to be cut. or raise taxes.”

TPS proposed a 1.7 percent ($20 million) increase to the police budget, for a total of $1.186 billion, but Chou initially pushed for a $12 million reduction, angering Police Chief Myron Demkiw. cutbacks threaten public safety.

Chow fought back against Demkiw's characterization of the police budget as a “cut,” noting that it was an overall increase from the previous number.

“Let me set the record straight,” Chow told reporters. “Toronto police will see millions of dollars more in the budget. There are no cuts.”

Despite this demand, the act of giving the police less than they asked for was not popular.

This is the conclusion of the survey published on Monday Chou's attitude towards crime was a driving factor in his decline in popularity — only 48 percent of respondents approved of his work in solving crime in the city.

Support for cutting Toronto Police Service funding to fund social services fell from 39 per cent to 31 per cent, with 44 per cent now against the measure, said David Valentine, director of Liaison Strategies, who conducted the poll.