Markham Mayor Frank Scarpitti's amalgamation proposal rejected by other York Region mayors

Aurora, Georgina, King, Newmarket, Richmond Hill, Whitchurch-Stouffville mayors all oppose amalgamation

Yorkregion.com
June 15, 2023

After Markham Mayor Frank Scarpitti made a major splash June 14 with a letter requesting York Region's nine lower-tier municipalities be amalgamated with the regional government to become one city, the other York Region mayors weighed in.

Of those who have responded so far, most oppose Scarpitti's idea. East Gwillimbury Mayor Virginia Hackson did not dismiss the idea, but indicated she is taking a wait-and-see approach.

Aurora

Aurora Mayor Tom Mrakas "strongly" opposes amalgamating York Region's municipalities into one city, he said in a prepared statement.

"It is quite disappointing that Mayor Scarpitti made such a statement -- on such a complex issue that has a significant impact on people's lives -- before reaching out to all York Region mayors to better understand their perspectives," he said.

He said he is in favour of looking for cost savings in government, but not in the way Scarpitti proposed.

"I have my own thoughts on how our regional government could potentially be restructured to strengthen service delivery, and I will be bringing those ideas forward shortly."

East Gwillimbury

Hackson noted the provincial government has already announced a review of municipal governance, and that regional council has not yet had a chance to discuss that announcement.

"Before any opinions and perspectives are shared, I think it is important to understand what is being proposed and contemplated," she said.

"East Gwillimbury is the fastest growing municipality in Canada, and our council is committed to continuously exploring efficient ways of delivering services to our residents."

Georgina

"From our historic downtowns, beautiful beaches to our rural landscapes, people come to Georgina to leave the city, not to become one," Mayor Margaret Quirk said.

Similar to the other mayors, she expressed disappointment that Scarpitti made his announcement without consulting them first.

"Learning of Mayor Scarpitti’s opinion to amalgamate all of York Region into one large city, I don’t see how a smaller community like Georgina, in amongst much larger populations, would see all the benefits that are being claimed," she said.

"Amalgamation is not necessary to find efficiencies and I welcome on-going discussions to explore those opportunities that would benefit all municipalities."

King

"As Mayor of the Township of King, a unique community of communities within York Region, I strongly disagree with Mayor Frank Scarpitti’s proposal that all the region be amalgamated into one mega-city," King Township Mayor Steve Pellegrini said in a prepared statement.

"I am disappointed that Mayor Scarpitti unilaterally made this proposal without consulting his colleagues," he continued.

"Amalgamating all the unique communities of York into one mega-city would take years and cost millions. Toronto’s experience has shown the complexity and challenges."

Newmarket

"The proposal by Mayor Scarpitti for one city of York Region does not, I believe, reflect the majority wishes of the residents of York Region or the other elected officials in York Region," Newmarket Mayor John Taylor said in a prepared statement, adding the Fraser Institute and Western University professor Timothy Cobban's research into the City of Toronto's amalgamation indicates combining York Region's upper- and lower-tier municipalities would not result in savings.

"I’m deeply concerned about the democratic voice of smaller communities such as Newmarket, Georgina and Aurora being lost in a one-city proposal," Taylor told YorkRegion.com.

Amalgamation would take years and significant energy and resources, his statement said, and residents want governments to focus issues such as "the homelessness crisis, housing affordability crisis, climate crisis and transit and congestion".

Richmond Hill

Richmond Hill Mayor David West also spoke in opposition to amalgamation.

"No resident voted for me or anyone else on council to dissolve Richmond Hill," he said.

"We have a great vision for the future of our community and dissolving Richmond Hill will only put that vision into jeopardy."

He noted Richmond Hill council is focussed on important local issues, particularly the need to develop more housing.

Vaughan

Vaughan Mayor Steven Del Duca had not yet released an official comment at the time of publishing, and YorkRegion.com was told he was unavailable.

Del Duca did seek to be the first elected chairperson of York Region in 2018 before the provincial government ruled the regional governance structure should remain as it was, with a chairperson appointed by regional council.

Whitchurch-Stouffville

Whitchurch-Stouffville Mayor Iain Lovatt agreed that governments can find efficiencies to save money, but argued it could be done within the existing two-tier structure.

"The nine municipalities of York Region are diverse in population, geography and priorities, and I believe that it is the uniqueness of our municipalities that are York Region's greatest strength," he said in his official statement.

He said he welcomes the provincial government supporting efforts to find efficiencies and that any decision on changing the governance structure "would of course include thorough consultation with residents, businesses and members of council".

Ontario

Even the provincial government weighed in on Scarpitti's letter.

"The province will be naming regional facilitators for the upper-tier municipalities of York, Durham, Halton, Niagara, Simcoe and Waterloo in the coming weeks," Victoria Podbielski, press secretary for Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing Steve Clark, said.

"While the review process has not yet begun, the province has no intention of unilaterally imposing amalgamations on municipalities in these areas. Facilitators will be tasked with making recommendations to ensure municipal governance structures can effectively respond to the issues facing Ontario’s fast-growing municipalities today, including tackling the housing supply crisis."