There's an appetite for regional reform in Simcoe County and York Region

Though some visions of what shape reform should take are wildly different

Thetrillium.ca
Jan. 18, 2024
Aidan Chamandy

To tinker or transform? That's the question some MPPs continue to ponder at committee hearings on the future of regional governance in Ontario.

On Wednesday, MPPs on the Standing Committee on Heritage, Infrastructure and Cultural Policy spoke with representatives from York Region, Simcoe County, and constituent municipalities on whether upper-tier governments need significant reforms to meet the challenges of the next few decades -- like building 1.5 million homes or more -- or if those issues can be addressed through small tweaks or no changes at all.

In Simcoe County, the largest lower-tier municipality wants big changes.

"We are increasingly a suburb within the Greater Toronto Area, in a county of largely rural and cottage country communities, which have their own unique challenges," Jonathan Scott, a Bradford West Gwillimbury councillor, said in speaking notes provided to The Trillium.

The meeting was held at a hotel in Vaughan but not broadcast, so The Trillium had to rely on speaking notes, council reports, and written submissions provided ahead of the meeting.

"We have just six per cent of the representatives in the county council chambers, despite being about 10 per cent of the county’s population and funding over 12 per cent of the county’s budget. Anyone can appreciate why we find this disparity frustrating," he added.

Scott and Bradford Mayor James Leduc argued that county council seats should be based on population, instead of the current two members per municipality.

"Each of the county’s 16 member municipalities has two representatives, equating to two votes. This results with 32 voices around the council table attempting to find common ground for a very large area with a distinct and diverse set of challenges. Meeting the needs of those communities is a challenge under the county’s current governance structure," Leduc's notes said.

Scott provided some examples of the different issues facing Bradford versus the rest of the county.

"A Bradford townhouse subdivision needs yard waste collection; in the more rural parts of the country, you just take those leaves out back and burn ‘em. Our library service needed multilingual materials in a way smaller, less diverse communities did not. We have our own bus transit system and needed regional transit to augment, not duplicate, our service," he said.

"Reform to Simcoe County’s decades-old governance structure is required to best position county council for success as it faces today’s challenges. If the county is unable to solve this issue internally, we would look to how that solution could be achieved through this review," Leduc added.

There have been internal attempts to solve the issue over the years, but to no avail, Scott said.

"These matters keep being decided against Bradford’s interests precisely because we have neither the representation nor the voting power to carry the day at Simcoe County."

The province should step in to clear the logjam, he said.

"We believe the province ought to mandate changes to regional governance to ensure all regions and counties in Ontario adhere to representation by population," he said. "The province should not simply end this review by kicking it back to the county, certainly not without clear instructions or guidelines to reach a fair, equitable and democratic outcome."

Simcoe County's suggestions, drawn from a county council report, largely revolve around smaller tweaks to planning and infrastructure management. Bradford's representatives said they mostly agree.

Simcoe is different from other upper-tier governments in that water and wastewater servicing is outside the mandate of the county. The lower-tier governments provide individual water and wastewater collection, distribution and treatment systems.

"There is a critical need for regional-scale infrastructure planning and delivery to unlock environmental, fiscal and technical limitations. Regional growth planning is imperative to guide infrastructure investment in the Simcoe Area," the report said.

Bradford's Leduc agreed that problem needs solving because it means municipalities "compete for consultants, grants, financing, staff, and upper-government support," he said.

The county report also said it shouldn't be shut out from planning decisions, which was mandated in Bill 23, though not yet fully implemented.

"The removal of all planning responsibility from high growth upper-tier municipalities will very likely negatively impact a region’s ability to plan for the services and systems that cross local boundaries but require long-range planning, coordination and large investments," it said.

Scott said he agrees with the need for the county to still be involved in regional-scale planning issues.

Mayors from within York Region were poised to offer wide-ranging views on what change should look like, according to materials they prepared ahead of their appearances before the committee of MPPs.

Wayne Emmerson, chairman of York, said the region's "two-tiered governance model that’s been in place for more than half a century is best positioned to help Ontario realize its ambitious housing goals."

Like the Simcoe staff report, a slide show prepared by York recommends the region only be involved in planning decisions if the issue in question is tied to regional interests.

It also suggested the province exempt critical municipal infrastructure projects from environmental assessments "to help ensure infrastructure is in the ground in time to meet provincial housing targets."

Richmond Hill Mayor David West largely agreed York has worked well.

"I continue to state that the current two-tier model of local governance preserves the distinct character of each municipality in York Region while ensuring effective service delivery," his speaking notes said, a copy of which was provided to The Trillium. "The disruption that major changes to regional government would cause represent a real distraction from the larger issues that are in front of us right now, including building 1.5 million houses. I believe the net benefit of that approach would be negative."

Vaughan Mayor Steven Del Duca's notes outlined larger sought-after changes.

He wants all roads downloaded to the lower-tier municipality but more emergency services uploaded.

"From both an infrastructure delivery as well as a maintenance perspective, it no longer makes sense to have two separate levels of bureaucracy be responsible for different categories of roads within one city," he said.

York currently provides policing and paramedic services but Del Duca said it's time to do the same for fire and rescue services.

The former Ontario Liberal leader's other recommendation was to share at least water and water-water infrastructure delivery between York, Durham, Peel and Halton through a municipal corporation.

Markham Mayor Frank Scarpitti used his time to reiterate a controversial proposal from last summer: amalgamation.

"That may sound bold, but what it really means is consolidating services that are more efficient and cost less," his notes said. "If you want to bring about the most effective change, consolidation is needed in York Region. One tax bill. One planning department. One water department. One fire department. We already have police and paramedics."

York's mayors weren't so keen on the idea when he first floated the idea.

The mayors of Richmond Hill, Aurora, Whitchurch-Stouffville, Newmarket all shot it down in interviews with The Trillium.