Markham mayor asks Ontario to make York Region one big city

Toronto.ctvnews.ca
June 14, 2023
Katherine DeClerq

The mayor of Markham is asking the provincial government to consolidate the York Region into one large city.

The request was released in a letter written by Frank Scarpitti on Wednesday.

“The provincial government has taken bold steps restructuring the City of Toronto Council and Peel Region and should be doing the same in York Region,” the letter says. “There is no rationale for taking bold steps in other GTA cities and keeping the status quo in York Region.”

York Region consists of nine municipalities -- Markham, Aurora, East Gwillimbury, Georgina, King Township, Richmond Hill, Vaughan and Whitchurch-Stouffville. It also has a regional government.

In the letter, Scarpitti argues there are 77 municipal representatives within York Region for about 1.2 million people. He compares this to the 26 councillors now representing about three million people in Toronto.

“Consolidating into one city would result in significant savings in both operating and capital budgets. Municipalities invest millions in cybersecurity, water billing, tax billing and recreational registration systems. A consolidated city will generate substantial savings.”

CTV News Toronto has reached out to the other municipalities in York Region to determine if they were consulted about this proposal, or if this is something they desire.

In early June, the government fast-tracked a bill that will dissolve Peel Region by 2025, making Mississauga, Brampton and Caledon independent, single-tier municipalities.

This will remove the regional governance of the area which controls core services like EMS, water treatment and garbage collection.

When the idea was first proposed publicly, Housing Minister Steve Clark said that it will be naming regional facilities to the regions of Durham, Halton, York, Niagara, Simcoe and Waterloo to determine if the government is “relevant to the needs of its communities.”

However, Clark also stressed that if other mayors want change, they should speak out publicly.

“I'm open to conversations with people but they're not going to be behind closed doors. If the mayor wants a different format, they're going to have to get in front of a podium and talk about it,” he said at the time.