Former Mississauga mayor Hazel McCallion to host growth summit in York Region

Yokregion.com
Aug. 26, 2016
By Lisa Queen

Former Mississauga mayor Hazel McCallion will host a summit in York Region, saying she has “grave concerns” about proposed updates to provincial growth plans for the Greater Toronto and Hamilton Area.

The Sept. 30 meeting at the regional headquarters in Newmarket aims to get a consensus from mayors and regional chairs on plans for future development in the sprawling region and then present a united front to Queen’s Park, McCallion said.

“I have concerns about it, very grave concerns,” said McCallion, the liaison officer between GTHA municipalities and Premier Kathleen Wynne.

For example, there are lands that should be included in the Greenbelt that have been left out and vice versa. Meanwhile, there are blanket policies covering the GTHA than don’t take into account the issues of individual municipalities, she said.

The Greater Golden Horseshoe will be home to another four million people, including an additional 700,000 in York Region, by 2041.

The question is where to put them, leading to debates over issues such as intensification and development on green space.

A panel, led by former Toronto mayor David Crombie, submitted 87 recommendations on how to improve growth plans for the Greater Golden Horseshoe, the Greenbelt plan, the Oak Ridges Moraine conservation plan and the Niagara Escarpment plan.

Crombie has recommended preventing more urban sprawl by increasing development densities, boosting public transit and preserving farmland.

Wynne is receptive to getting input on the growth plans from mayors and regional chairs, McCallion said.

She compared next month’s summit to a meeting of mayors and regional chairs she called following the December 2013 ice storm

“We put together a request to the province to assist us with that ice storm cost, which was high, and we won a great deal to assist us financially,” she said.

“It clearly indicates that when we work together and get a consensus, it’s a pretty powerful message to take to the province.”

Following the ice storm summit, York Region received more than $2.3 million from the province to help pay for damage cleanup.