Decision on Peel Region’s future booted to November, says Brampton mayor

Yorkregion.com
June 17, 2019
Graeme Frisque

Those waiting for an answer on what the Region of Peel will look like after the Ford government’s ongoing review of regional governance will have to wait a little longer, according to Brampton Mayor Patrick Brown.

“The regional governance review has been booted from August to November under the assumption (the province) didn’t want anything interfering with the federal election,” Brown told council at its June 12 meeting.

Brown made the comment while cautioning council and staff to consider the fact that any plans made right now could very well become obsolete in a few months depending on the review results.

“That means it’s likely not a situation where nothing’s happening. It’s likely a situation where there could be change and I think we need to work on that basis. Because we never want to be in a position where we renegotiate contracts in October and have to do it again in November,” he added.

During a special council meeting on May 4, both Brown and city staff reported they expected an answer from the province on whether Peel Region would amalgamate, dissolve or remain as is as early as August ahead of the Association of Municipalities of Ontario (AMO) conference mid-month.

Earlier this year, Premier Ford announced his government’s plans to review governance in 82 upper- and lower-tier municipalities, including Peel Region, made up of Brampton, Mississauga and Caledon.

The councils in all three municipalities submitted their comments, data and public input in late May. Mississauga has made its desire to separate from the Region of Peel and operate independently known since the day the review was announced in January.

Both Brampton and Caledon councils waited until closer to the May 21 submission deadline to conduct further economic studies and public consultations before making their decisions. Both cities support keeping the current government structure in Peel as is.

A pair of Main Street Research polls commissioned by the City of Brampton conducted at the end of April and early May found while 48.3 per cent of Mississauga residents favoured a split from the region, 63.5 per cent of those in Caledon and 66.4 per cent of Bramptonians preferred maintaining the regional status quo.