Attn Mayor Groves I called earlier and talked to one of your assistants
David Amos<david.raymond.amos333@gmail.com> | Fri, May 19, 2023 at 2:01 PM |
| To: annette.groves@caledon.ca | |
| Cc: motomaniac333 <motomaniac333@gmail.com> | |
https://davidraymondamos3. Friday, 19 May 2023 Why Caledon's mayor says it feels like the child of divorce amid Peel's breakup | |
Why Caledon's mayor says it feels like the child of divorce amid Peel's breakup
Peel Region to be dissolved by 2025 if province's legislation passes
On Thursday, Municipal Affairs Minister Steve Clark tabled legislation to begin the dissolution of the region, making Mississauga, Brampton and Caledon standalone cities by the beginning of 2025.
Caledon, by far the smallest member of the Peel family with a population of under 77,000 as of the 2021 census, has always maintained the Peel Region system was serving it well.
Caledon Mayor Annette Groves likened the situation to a divorce at a news conference Thursday.
"We know that now there is a divorce happening, and now we just have to figure out how we ensure that the children are not impacted," said Groves.
"It isn't something that we wanted, but at the end of the day, we're here with this decision today and I think we just have to work with it and do the best we can."
Clark says he will ensure all municipalities, which currently share considerable infrastructure and several services, are "made whole" amid the dissolution. But for Caledon leadership and residents, questions remain what the process and result will look like.
Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing, Steve Clark, says Peel municipalities will be 'made whole.' (Evan Mitsui/CBC)
Hopes for some resources to remain shared
The province's next step is to appoint a transition board to monitor any financial or contractual moves made by local governments in the years leading up to dissolution and make recommendations on things like labour relations and property tax changes.
Clark has said it's possible the three municipalities might still share some services following dissolution.
Groves says many questions remain including what becomes of water, wastewater and road maintenance in Caledon, but that working through those questions is the transition board's purpose.
WATCH | Groves on Peel Region's impending divorce:
The mayor says she's hopeful some services, such as water, will continue to be shared.
"I think the opportunities are there to share utilities," Groves said.
Longtime Caledon resident and community advocate Cheryl Connors says she's worried how her small community will pay for anything it will need going forward.
While the split has been advocated for by successive Mississauga mayors for years, Connors says it doesn't make sense to leave Caledon on its own because it doesn't have as many resources as the two larger municipalities.
"To announce legislation that leaves us as a standalone community as if we're the same as Mississauga and Brampton… That's just absurd," she said.
The town of Caledon has fewer financial resources than Brampton or Mississauga. (Patrick Morrell/CBC)
She says she is worried the people of Caledon will now need to shoulder more costs.
"I haven't heard any business or financial reasons, or anything that's good for the taxpayers," she said.
Questions about level of consultation
Connors says she's concerned about what she perceives as a lack of consultation with residents before the decision was reached.
"We're the forgotten child that nobody cares about. We're the afterthought," she said.
Asked whether residents were given a say in the decision, Clark told reporters the province conducted polling and consultations in Peel Region. The minister did not specify who was consulted or how many residents were polled.
"There's been consultations, there's been election campaigns, there's been polling, there's been there has been studies. You know, this is not something that we just decided without some significant thought," Clark said.
Caledon resident Shahid Khan says he's worried about what the move means for his family's use of recreational facilities.
"We go to Brampton to a soccer stadium and then we go their recreation centres," said Khan. "We need to build more of these services here in Caledon now."
But with less economic development in Caledon than in neighbouring Mississauga or Brampton, he's not sure how his town will pay for new facilities and services or if residents will have to do without.
In spite of anxieties from residents, Groves said, "I have every confidence that we will all be looked after in the end."
She says she will keep fighting for Caledon residents in the transition.
"I will make sure that they are protected, that they are we have our fair share, and that we are all treated equally here."
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Now they are reversing it. Go figure.
So much for Mississauga gaining its "independence"
Ontario to break up Peel Region in 2025, but mayors signal it could be a nasty divorce
Legislation tabled Thursday kicks off complex dissolution process
CBC News · Posted: May 18, 2023 10:47 AM ADT
"Caledon Mayor Annette Groves says her community is the 'child' in the Peel Region split, but has 'every confidence' that all of the region's residents will be looked after in the end. 'I had a great divorce, I didn't even use a lawyer,' she told reporters."
Ontario to break up Peel Region in 2025, but mayors signal it could be a nasty divorce
Legislation tabled Thursday kicks off complex dissolution process
Municipal Affairs Minister Steve Clark tabled legislation Thursday that will begin the process of restructuring Mississauga and Brampton — the third and fourth largest cities in Ontario — and the Town of Caledon into independent municipalities.
Clark announced the bill at a news conference alongside Mississauga Mayor Bonnie Crombie and Brampton Mayor Patrick Brown.
Speaking at Queen's Park Thursday, Clark said Peel region, which is already home to 1.5 million people, will grow by half a million people in the next two decades and that those people will need homes to live in.
"To build these homes to the scale and speed that is required, the people of these three municipalities will need local governments that are not only nimble but efficient enough to get that done," he said.
The bill has been dubbed the Hazel McCallion Act, after the former mayor who served Mississauga for 36 years. McCallion died in January at the age of 101.
Minister
of Municipal Affairs and Housing Steve Clark spoke to reporters at a
news conference Thursday and said the province's plan to split up Peel
Region will help speed up housing development. (Evan Mitsui/CBC)
Clark said the province wants to give the mayors of Mississauga, Brampton and Caledon the same "strong mayor" powers that have been given to mayors in Toronto and Ottawa. The powers allow mayors in those cities to propose bylaws and pass them with the support of one-third of councillors.
It's possible the three locales might still share some services following dissolution, Clark said.
Asked if Peel police could be among them, Clark said that will be up to the mayors and transition board.
Mayors differ on details of a fair deal
As for the financial fallout of the break-up, the mayors of Mississauga and Brampton have signalled there could be a battle over exactly what a fair deal might look like.
Crombie has long pushed for an independent Mississauga and called Thursday a "historic day." Brown has said there are "some legitimate, real advantages" in eliminating the second layer of government at the regional level.
WATCH | Patrick Brown says Ford promised Brampton will be 'made whole':
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Ealier in the day, Crombie told CBC Radio's Metro Morning she doesn't want her city's tax dollars being spent building out Brampton.
"I asked that our tax dollars continue to be invested in our city for our growth and infrastructure, our programs and services," Crombie later said at the news conference.
But Brown disputes Crombie's numbers, with each mayor relying on conflicting audit reports from two different firms that explored the costs and challenges of breaking apart Peel Region.
"Every single cent we put in to build that infrastructure in Mississauga, my residents expect back," Brown said at the news conference.
WATCH | Bonnie Crombie, Patrick Brown both say their cities helped finance the other:
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Brown said his city's consultants say the cost of replacing the water treatment and waste water facility currently in Mississauga would cost Brampton a total of $4 billion.
Brown said if Brampton isn't "made whole" it would be "catastrophic" for property taxes in the city.
Crombie suggested it's Mississauga that needs to be made whole for the contributions it's made while Brampton and Caledon grew.
Asked about Brown's concerns that Brampton deserves financial support for the infrastructure it has helped build in Peel, Clark said he thinks a deal will come that works for all three municipalities.
"The transition board will deal with financial matters, we believe there are good quality municipal services being delivered equitably and fairly now," Clark said during the news conference.
Crombie too said she believes a deal can be worked out amicably.
WATCH | Caledon Mayor Annette Groves is optimistic about the process:
Annette Groves, mayor of Caledon, also said she believes everything will be worked out.
"It isn't something that we wanted, but at the end of the day, we're here with this decision today and I think we just have to work with it and do the best we can," Groves said.
Province to consider if other cities can stand alone
The province has appointed a five-member board to steer the transition.
Its job will be to provide recommendations for a dissolution process that "respects taxpayers and protects existing services," according to the provincial presentation.
Local services are anticipated to continue uninterrupted across the region in the meantime, officials said.
The government also plans to appoint regional facilitators in the coming weeks to explore whether the constituent cities and towns of the following regions could stand independently:
- Durham.
- Halton.
- Niagara.
- Simcoe.
- Waterloo.
- York.
For Durham Region's part, there have been no concerns raised about its size or structure, regional chair and chief executive officer John Henry said in a statement. Henry said the eight local municipalities in that region work well together to serve residents through service delivery.
Board to oversee local decision making
In a presentation outlining the details of the new legislation, the government said its purpose is to ensure Mississauga, Brampton and Caledon "have the tools and autonomy they need to deliver on local priorities, including the ambitious housing pledges they have agreed to."
Mississauga and Brampton have committed to more than quadrupling and tripling housing starts by 2031, respectively, when compared to their 2013 to 2022 averages.
From
left Brampton Mayor Patrick Brown, Mississauga Mayor Bonnie Crombie,
Caledon Mayor Annette Groves and Municipal Affairs Minister Steve Clark.
Clark said the municipalities in Peel Region are poised for growth. (Evan Mitsui/CBC)
The board will also monitor any financial or contractual moves made by local governments in the years leading up to dissolution, officials said. It will have authority to "make directions" to prevent any decisions that could complicate the long-term restructuring process, one official said, without elaborating further.
The board will analyze and provide recommendations on:
- Labour relations issues.
- Regional by-laws and the disentanglement of regional services.
- Regional and lower-tier finances and their financial sustainability.
- Potential new property tax arrangements.
- The future of regional boards and commissions.
Those recommendations are expected in the summer or fall of 2024. Another piece of legislation will be tabled in the fall of 2024 to address any outstanding matters with the dissolution, officials said.
Under the proposed legislation, the transition board will be "wound down" on Jan. 31, 2025.
Peel Region was created in 1974 by the government of former premier Bill Davis. The region is responsible for services such as police, paramedics, wastewater treatment, health programs and recycling.
With files from Lorenda Reddekopp, Lucas Powers and Lane Harrison
Mayor Annette Groves
Annette Groves
Town of Caledon
Contact information
Town of Caledon
6311 Old Church Road
Caledon, ON L7C 1J6
Office: 905-584-2272
Fax: 905-584-4325
annette.groves@caledon.ca
Region of Peel Council
The Region of Peel Council consists of 25 members. This includes the Regional Chair, mayors of Brampton, Caledon, and Mississauga, and council members representing wards from each city or town.
Regional Chair
The Regional Chair is the political head and is also known as the Chief Executive Officer of the Regional Corporation.
The Regional Chair for the 2022-2026 term is Nando Iannicca.
Regional Chair Nando Iannicca
Nando Iannicca
The Regional Chair is the political head of the Region and is also known as the Chief Executive Officer of the Regional Corporation. The Chair is elected by the 24 members of Regional Council to preside over meetings of Council and to ensure its decisions are implemented.
To accomplish this, the Regional Chair represents the Region in dealing with other levels of government and plays a strong liaison role with Regional staff through the Chief Administrative Officer.
Contact information
10 Peel Centre Dr.,
Brampton, ON L6T 4B9
Fax: 905-791-2567
nando.iannicca@peelregion.ca
Brampton
- Ward 1: Paul Vicente
- Ward 1: Rowena Santos
- Ward 2: Michael Palleschi
- Ward 2: Navjit Kaur Brar
- Ward 3: Martin Medeiros
- Ward 3: Dennis Keenan
- Ward 4: Martin Medeiros
- Ward 4: Dennis Keenan
- Ward 5: Paul Vicente
- Ward 5: Rowena Santos
- Ward 6: Michael Palleschi
- Ward 6: Navjit Kaur Brar
- Ward 7: Pat Fortini
- Ward 8: Pat Fortini
- Ward 9: Gurpartap Singh Toor
- Ward 10: Gurpartap Singh Toor
Caledon
Mississauga
Hon. Steve Clark (Leeds—Grenville—Thousand Islands and Rideau Lakes)
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