Mississauga city council outraged at lack of consultation in report on 'Mississ-exit'
City council says regional report prepared by Deloitte full of assumptions
Yorkregion.com
April 8, 2019
Ali Raza
“Mississauga is officially outraged,” Mayor Bonnie Crombie proclaimed at the last city council meeting which discussed a report commissioned by the Region of Peel to evaluate the implications of “Mississ-exit.”
The city suggested that report, prepared by Deloitte, was commissioned by Regional Chair Nando Iannicca and released to the public, media, and members of regional council on March 28. Mississauga city council held a special meeting on April 3 to discuss the findings.
Councillors were not happy.
In response, Mississauga city council passed a motion seeking clarification from the regional chair, chief administrative officer, and chief financial officer on who authorized the report, when it was authorized, the total cost of the report, how the terms of reference were established, which members of regional council were made aware of the report in advance, and details on any further discussion between the Region and Deloitte.
Council also stated in the motion that if it did not receive a response from the Region by April 10, then the city would file a Freedom of Information Request, which would take a deeper look including all emails, phone logs, memorandums, and other correspondence of the regional chair, CAO, and CFO.
Mississauga council will also move a motion at regional council on April 11 directing the Region to cease all activities related to regional governance.
“Regional council was not made aware of the commissioning of this report,” Crombie said. “There was no opportunity to set the terms of reference or scope of the budget.”
“It’s $325,000 spent without our permission,” Coun. Carolyn Parrish added, noting the cost of the study.
While Iannicca, as chair, is allocated a certain amount of spending that does not require council approval, Mississauga city councillors said a study like this required regional council’s “biggest financial partner”, Mississauga, to provide input and terms of reference and none was sought.
Council also noted that Brampton mayor Patrick Brown was made aware of the report before other regional councillors.
“It’s fundamentally unfair and outrageous that the chair would share the report with one individual and not all of us,” Crombie said.
According to the City of Mississauga, the Deloitte report was initially used by the regional chair and CAO Feb. 8 to present a position to the special advisers to the Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing Michael Fenn and Ken Seiling, who are conducting the province's review on regional governance. It wasn’t until a March 28 regional council meeting, the City noted, that regional council members were made aware of the report and its findings.
Mississauga city council members are not only upset about the lack of council approval and the manner in which the report was released, but also that the terms of reference and assumptions in the report aren’t consistent.
“There’s an assumption [in the Deloitte report] that we would have our own police service,” Coun. Pat Saito said. “This isn’t our assumption.”
