Brampton and Mississauga mayors react to decision on future of regional government

Crombie ‘extremely disappointed’ by province's regional review

Yorkregion.com
November 4, 2019
Hailey Montgomery

The Ford government’s announcement to maintain the current structure of regional municipalities means Brampton and Mississauga will remain in Peel, an outcome only one of the cities’ mayors is happy to hear.

After announcing it would go forward with a review of Ontario’s regional municipalities in January, The Ontario Ministry of Housing said Friday, Oct. 25 it would not pursue a top-down approach to municipal governance.

In emailed statements, Brampton Mayor Brown said he welcomed the decision, while Mississauga Mayor Bonnie Crombie said she was extremely disappointed "the province has decided to maintain the status quo.”

In May, Brampton and Caledon councils both cast their support behind maintaining the current governance structure, while Mississauga council has asked the province for its independence from Peel Region.

Ford regional governance review holding up municipal planning in Brampton
“This decision was based on two independent financial reports, which showed the continuation of pooling resources through the region protects the taxpayer and we thank Premier (Doug) Ford for putting the taxpayer first,” said Brown.

Crombie said in her statement there is a great deal of duplication between Mississauga and Peel, and that the city sends $84 million more per year to the region than it sees in return.

“Over the last year our study has shown Mississauga is not getting a fair deal from the region -- the governance and financial model is broken,” she said.

The province’s statement also came with a funding announcement of $143 million to municipalities “to help them lower costs and improve services.”

David Barrick, Brampton’s chief administrative officer, said the city can now move forward with their 2020-2022 budget process with greater certainty and peace of mind.

Crombie said despite the outcome, she accepted the province's decision and would continue to work with the region “for the residents of Peel and Mississauga.”

According to the ministry, the regional review advisory body solicited input from elected and appointed council members, municipal and business stakeholders, and members of the public from the nine upper-tier municipalities and 73 lower-tier member municipalities.