Municipal Affairs and Housing Minister Paul Calandra has announced the provincial government’s decision to reverse its previous mandate to dissolve Peel Region.
“While we originally thought that the best way to achieve our goals of better services and lower taxes was through dissolution, we’ve since heard loud and clear from municipal leaders and stakeholders that full dissolution would lead to significant tax hikes and disruption to critical services the people of Peel Region depend on. This is something our government will never support,” Calandra said.
“While some might be okay with raising taxes on hard-working people, families, and businesses, we aren’t. This new mandate of the board will deliver improvements to local services like police, paramedics and public health while always respecting taxpayers,” he added.
The province says that the Peel Transition Board has worked closely and diligently with municipal governments and service agencies in Peel Region to support high-quality services for taxpayers while improving the efficiency of local governments as they prepare for future growth, including by making good on their municipal housing pledges. The new, more focused mandate also asks the board to bring forward recommendations on optimizing the delivery of services that support the commitment to build more homes, including land-use planning, servicing, roads and waste management.
According to the province, removing the duplicative layer of regional bureaucracy from the administration of these services will get shovels in the ground faster so more people in Mississauga, Brampton and Caledon can find a home that meets their needs.
The province will introduce legislation in the new year that, if passed, would recalibrate the mandate of the Peel Region Transition Board to focus on making local government in Peel Region more efficient and responsive to the needs of taxpayers, including by improving regional services like policing, paramedics and public health, instead of dissolution.
Mississauga Mayor Bonnie Crombie who announced her resignation date today, will respond to this announcement at a press conference scheduled for 2:45pm. She has strongly advocated for her city’s independence constantly butting heads with Brampton Mayor Patrick Brown who recently revealed the huge financial implication’s of Peel’s breakup.
