On Thursday, Ontario Premier Doug Ford said a decision on future independence would be made "very, very soon."
Mississauga, Brampton, and Caledon make up Peel, which is responsible for paramedics, health programs, and recycling.
In November, the Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing announced that he would appoint facilitators to evaluate six regional governments, including Peel Region, with the goal of expanding “strong mayor” powers beyond Toronto and Ottawa by looking at the best mix between upper and lower tier municipalities.
After an unrelated announcement Thursday in Brampton, Ford said a final decision has not yet been made about Peel, although he hopes it will come "very, very soon." However, Ford views Mississauga and Brampton as large cities that can carry on without Peel.
According to Ford, “It’s (so) you don’t have to worry about constantly going to the region.”
“I’ll give you one example, with Mississauga. Mississauga dictates right now what Caledon can build, even though it’s miles away, nowhere close to Mississauga.”
While Mayor Patrick Brown said he is in favor of eliminating duplication, he believes Mississauga would owe Brampton under any separation.
“If there (are) two cities, Brampton needs to be made whole in the sense that the water treatment facilities, the police headquarters, we have built in Mississauga,” said Mayor Brown at a news conference with Ford on Thursday.
“If the mayor of Mississauga thinks she can leave and not pay her bill, the residents of Brampton would be outraged.”
Bonnie Crombie, Mayor of Mississauga, has been advocating for the city's independence, arguing that it will save $1 billion over 10 years.
“For 50 years, Mississauga has been the cash cow for the Region of Peel as we pay for more than 60 per cent of the costs yet only have 50 per cent of the vote,” she explained.
“Any assertion that Brampton has paid for our growth and infrastructure is fundamentally untrue … because Mississauga has been paying for Brampton’s growth, Mayor Brown has been afforded the luxury of freezing taxes locally for four of his five years of passing a budget.”
It is Ford's goal to ensure that the municipalities get the same or better service as other municipalities.
“If one region is taking more money than the other, we’re going to have to make sure that’s split equally,” he said.
“Mississauga, for the most part, almost, is built out. There’s still room for additional building there, but Brampton still has an opportunity to continue to grow. But they are not going to be shafted by Mississauga, or any anyone else, I’m going to make sure they’re always whole and they’re always protected, all three regions.”
Source: GlobalNews
コメント