Peel on the hook for election costs for regional chair

Peel Region spent $26,537.62 on materials for election of regional chair

Mississauga.com
Oct. 18, 2018
Marta Marychuk

The Region of Peel is on the hook for $26,537.62 in costs associated with the 2018 election of the regional chair, after the province introduced legislation that abruptly cancelled the electoral process.

The Better Local Government Act, 2018 (Bill 5) introduced by the newly-elected Doug Ford government came into effect on Aug. 14, 2018.

The legislation created havoc for the City of Toronto, which reduced the number of council seats to 25 from 47 in the upcoming municipal election on Oct. 22. The legislation also scrapped the election of a regional chair in Peel, York, Niagara and Muskoka Regions.

As a result, Peel Regional Council will appoint the Peel Regional Chair at the first meeting of the Regional Council for the 2018-2022 term.

But, between July 17, 2017, and to Aug. 13, 2018, the region incurred $26,537.62 in costs to --“fulfil the Region of Peel’s obligation to successfully run the election of the Peel Regional Chair, ensure policies and procedures are in place, accept nominations and inform the community about the election,” explained Tatiana Marmora, a Region of Peel Communications Specialist, in an email.

Of the $26,537.62 the region spent, $19,022.67 was for advertising. Another $4,837.27 was spent on water bill inserts, to notify voters of the election of regional chair. Other costs include: $610.56 for a candidate information session, $358.13 for election workshops, $222 for flyers, $102.52 for poster board displays, $99.70 for light snacks, tea and coffee for meetings.

The region also spent: $233.41in office supplies, $202.33 in debit machine charges, $690.77 for a time stamp, $28.84 for commissioners’ stamps, $75 for a course with the Association of Municipalities of Ontario (AMO) and $54.42 for an election law book

As part of the region’s obligation to run the election of the Peel Regional Chair, Marmora said documents filed by the candidates, and some other filing documents, required a commissioners’ stamp, so stamps were purchased.

The time stamp was purchased to ensure accuracy with filing times, as times can make a difference when it comes to deadlines, Marmora added. Debit charges were paid for using a debit machine to accept nomination fee payments from candidates. The AMO course was taken by the Clerk’s department staff to prepare for running the election.

Marmora said the provincial government has not offered to cover the election expenses, and the Region of Peel, to date, has not made a decision about approaching the province to cover them.

“The Better Local Government Act, 2018 reversed changes that forced all regional municipalities to directly elect their regional chairs,” said Rachel Widakdo, a spokesperson from

the Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing. “This gives regional municipalities the opportunity to decide what is right for them in future elections.”

The ministry has not received any requests for reimbursement from affected municipalities, Widakdo added.