Brampton Mayor Linda Jeffrey, Photo courtesy of: The Canadian Press/Nathan Denette
Mayor Crombie, backed by City Council, has commissioned a study to review the feasibility of the City of Mississauga leaving the Peel Region. The Region of Peel, comprised of Mississauga, Brampton and Caledon, was formed in 1974 to assist emerging municipalities by sharing costs. In two-tier regional governments, municipalities only contribute taxes to the region for the services provided at that level.
For example, policing in Peel is handled and paid for by the region. However, other services, such as Parks and Recreation, Mississauga collects its’ own taxes for its own municipal government. Seceding would bring everything under one roof, controlled by one council, so Mississauga would have nothing to do with the other municipalities.
Now that Mississauga is the third largest city in Ontario and the sixth largest city in Canada, Crombie feels we should be making our own decisions as a city. Although any such decision would have to be approved by the Province, it may be difficult from a political standpoint for them to say no.
This is not a new idea. Former Mayor, Hazel McCallion, had been pushing Queen’s Park for separation since 2004, arguing that Mississauga was too big to be a part of a two-tiered system, and that it is paying too large a share of the costs. Back in 2004 McCallion told CBC news that a report prepared by chartered accountants found that Mississauga was paying $19 million to cover services in Brampton and another $6 million for Caledon. Some councillors have recently questioned why we should be paying to maintain Caledon’s rural roads.
In a recent press release Crombie stated, “We are currently undertaking a review of the governance of the Region of Peel, and I think it is important that Council and the residents of Mississauga understand what Regional governance means for them and whether a change would mean a better deal for Mississauga.” If the results of the review are positive for leaving Peel, the issue will be put forth to residents as a referendum in the Municipal Election in 2018.
Brampton Mayor, Linda Jeffrey, says, “Mississauga’s growth and development is a direct result of the city’s participation in the Region of Peel and the billions of dollars contributed by Brampton taxpayers. Seeking to leave the region is not only disingenuous, but a frivolous use of Brampton, Caledon and Mississauga taxpayers’ money.” She went on to say that if Mississauga goes on its own, “Brampton expects to be compensated for its decades of investment to the regional system” and that “Brampton was there to help Mississauga as it grew and built out and that, now as infrastructure investments are needed in Brampton, it wants to cut and run.”
For example, policing in Peel is handled and paid for by the region. However, other services, such as Parks and Recreation, Mississauga collects its’ own taxes for its own municipal government. Seceding would bring everything under one roof, controlled by one council, so Mississauga would have nothing to do with the other municipalities.
Now that Mississauga is the third largest city in Ontario and the sixth largest city in Canada, Crombie feels we should be making our own decisions as a city. Although any such decision would have to be approved by the Province, it may be difficult from a political standpoint for them to say no.
This is not a new idea. Former Mayor, Hazel McCallion, had been pushing Queen’s Park for separation since 2004, arguing that Mississauga was too big to be a part of a two-tiered system, and that it is paying too large a share of the costs. Back in 2004 McCallion told CBC news that a report prepared by chartered accountants found that Mississauga was paying $19 million to cover services in Brampton and another $6 million for Caledon. Some councillors have recently questioned why we should be paying to maintain Caledon’s rural roads.
In a recent press release Crombie stated, “We are currently undertaking a review of the governance of the Region of Peel, and I think it is important that Council and the residents of Mississauga understand what Regional governance means for them and whether a change would mean a better deal for Mississauga.” If the results of the review are positive for leaving Peel, the issue will be put forth to residents as a referendum in the Municipal Election in 2018.
Brampton Mayor, Linda Jeffrey, says, “Mississauga’s growth and development is a direct result of the city’s participation in the Region of Peel and the billions of dollars contributed by Brampton taxpayers. Seeking to leave the region is not only disingenuous, but a frivolous use of Brampton, Caledon and Mississauga taxpayers’ money.” She went on to say that if Mississauga goes on its own, “Brampton expects to be compensated for its decades of investment to the regional system” and that “Brampton was there to help Mississauga as it grew and built out and that, now as infrastructure investments are needed in Brampton, it wants to cut and run.”
This article was originally published in the Summer 2016 issue of the Rockwood Homeowners' Association quarterly newsletter, The Rockwood Times.
