How does the Region of Peel share responsibilities with Mississauga, Brampton and Caledon?

The Region of Peel and local governments have shared responsibilities, here's an explainer

Yorkregion.com
April 8, 2019
Ali Raza

The Region of Peel is under the provincial microscope as Ontario reviews its regional governments, following an announcement in January this year.

The City of Mississauga, in response to the announcement, passed a motion in principle to ask the province for independence from the region.

The relationship between Mississauga, Brampton, and Caledon, and the Region of Peel evades common knowledge among the Region’s 1.4 million residents, split among the three municipalities.

To understand why Mississauga seeks independence it helps to know what these separate municipal governments actually do.

The Region of Peel was created in 1974 by the Ontario government under Bill Davis. Its boundaries were carved from the former County of Peel and it was built to provide community services to an urbanizing area south of the county, which today is Mississauga and Brampton.

Caledon, a rural town north of Brampton, is also part of the Region of Peel.

The region is responsible for police, ambulance, garbage and recycling, social services, public health, water and wastewater, child care, regional roads, and social housing.

Mississauga, Brampton, and Caledon, are responsible for libraries, street trees, snow clearing, fire services, transit, arts and culture, building permits, bylaws, property taxes, traffic management, city planning, local roads and sidewalks, community centres and city parks.

The three municipalities are governed by their respective mayors and members of council. The respective mayors and councils are elected by popular vote every four years, with the last election in 2018.

The Region of Peel’s government consists of members of council from Mississauga, Brampton, and Caledon, totalling 24, including the mayors. Those members appoint a regional chair.

The two layers of government work jointly to deliver services to residents and manage infrastructure and development in the community.

Both the regional and local governments are primarily funded by residents through property taxes. The property tax bill has three components: the cost of regional services, the cost of local municipal services, and the cost of education, which goes to the provincial government.

Approximately 40 per cent of a residential property tax dollar goes to the local government, while 41 per cent goes to the region. The remaining 19 per cent goes to the province to fund education.

The Region of Peel takes that 41 per cent to fund Peel Regional Police, housing support, waste management, roads and transportation, Peel Regional Paramedic Services, capital infrastructure, long-term care and other services.
The local municipalities take their 40 per cent to fund their own services and infrastructure.

Mississauga, for example, spends its share on Mississauga Fire and Emergency Services, MiWay, roads, parks and forestry, business services, libraries, recreation, information technology, facilities and property management, land development services, culture, environment, and regulatory and legislative services.

It’s this shared network of services between two levels of government that Mississauga is criticizing, seeking to gain control of all its services and infrastructure, citing cost efficiencies and civic pride.